


The Shed

by Thwipp (Thwipp_Thwipp)



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood Kink, Blood and Gore, Canon-Typical Violence, Childhood Trauma, Dubious Ethics, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Manipulation, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Romance, Explicit Sexual Content, Extremely Dubious Consent, Gon Killua and Leorio also have so much Trauma, Graphic Violence, Kurapika has so much Trauma, M/M, Minor Character Death, Rough Sex, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:28:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 26,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27294934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thwipp_Thwipp/pseuds/Thwipp
Summary: It’s the height of autumn, the dredges of summer still hanging over the town of Padokea Park, when everything changes for Kurapika and his friends, Gon, Killua, and Leorio. Bogged down by impossible dreams, bullies, family expectations, and the horrors of real life, their world is transformed when their monster hunting hobby turns up something far more real than they could have dreamed. But when people start to go missing, and those around them start to get hurt, they quickly realise that their amateur investigations have grisly, horrifying consequences.
Relationships: Kurapika/Kuroro Lucifer | Chrollo Lucifer
Comments: 97
Kudos: 183





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> dedicated to my best friend, aprilwinks ʚ♡⃛ɞ(ू•ᴗ•ू❁)
> 
> title borrowed from a horror movie of the same name, with a similar concept. the similarities end there, however.
> 
> character ages: Kurapika (17), Leorio (18), Killua (15), Gon (15)

**SUNDAY**

On some level, Kurapika Kurta had always known that monsters were real. Murderers, rapists, tyrants; all of them were monsters in human clothing, masquerading amongst society and appealing to the basest of human desire for survival, effectively betting upon humanities’ worst instincts of cruelty, validation, and lust, and so very often succeeding. More than most, Kurapika knew that monsters were real. It was in the way people would stop and stare at his cousin on the street, whispering behind their hands, their vicious words equally mocking and pitying. It was in the way he had found his parents bodies that fateful night, strewn across the living room, their flesh torn apart and the furniture painted with their blood. That was the work of monsters.

Yes, monsters were real, and they were human. But past the fancies of childhood, he had never imagined for an instance that the monsters of folklore and fancy were out there. But he was wrong. So, so wrong.

It was on a boring Sunday morning in late September that his world was turned on his head. Everything that followed, the blood, the needless suffering, the onslaught of death, would plague not only Kurapika, but indeed all those left behind in Padokea Park for years after.

Like any other teenager, Kurapika was still fast asleep, enjoying a brief reprieve from the early start that came with having to go to school. But as he had learned all too soon, all good things must come to an end, and he found himself waking to the familiar grating sound of _buzzing_ right beside his head.

Raising his head from his pillow, Kurapika shot an icy glare at his phone which had dared to wake him up on his day off. A quick glance at the alarm clock beside his bed showed the time to be 9:30AM. Kurapika groaned and buried his face in the pillows. His eyes slid shut, and just as he was on the edge of sleep once again, the phone buzzed again. But this time, it kept going. Swearing under his breath, Kurapika reached blindly for his phone which was currently having a discount rave on his bedside table. As he used his thumb to unlock the phone, he was instantly inundated with a wall of messages from his friends:

**Kil**

_Pika wake up_

**Fish Fear Me**

_WAKE UP_

°˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

**Kil**

_GET UP_

_WE NEED YOU AT THE SHED_

_HURRY UP_

**Kil**

_SRSLY DUDE ARE YOU STILL ASLEEP???_

_PIKA_

_C’MON_

_WAKE UP_

**Fish Fear Me**

_PIKA PIKA PIKA PIKA PIKA_

_eARTH TO PIKA._

_GET OVER HERE STAT_

_PIKA YOU NEED TO SEE THIS_ o(≧∇≦o)

**Medicine Man**

_guys can you not._

_I’m at work rn. stop blowing up my phone._

_srsly. just stop._

**Kil**

_booooooooooo_

**Fish Fear Me**

_booooooooooooo_

**Medicine Man**

_goddamnit guys_

Kurapika squinted at the phone screen, eyes still adjusting to the light of day. Thanks to school, the only chance he had to get a solid ten hours of sleep was on the weekend, so he did _not_ appreciate being awake earlier than he had to be. Still half-asleep, Kurapika slowly tapped out a reply:

**Pika**

_it’s a sunday_

_let me sleep_

The response was instant.

**Fish Fear Me**

_HE LIVESSSSSSS_

_get down to kil’s now. you’re not gonna want to miss this._

ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

**Kil**

_we’re waiting for you!_

_hurry up_

**Fish Fear Me**

_even sleep isn’t better than this._

_trust me_

**Medicine Man**

_guys I swear to GOD_

**Fish Fear Me**

_chill_

**Kil**

_yeah chill_

Rolling his eyes, Kurapika moved to sit up. He knew that once Gon and Killua got going, they would never stop. His sleep-in was ruined. If he did not get up now, then Gon and Killua would probably start doorknocking after him. They had done it before, and his aunt and uncle had _not_ been pleased. Stifling a yawn, he got up and shot off a message, before heading to the shower:

**Pika**

_okay okay I’m on my way. be there in twenty_

* * *

Kurapika’s friend Killua Zoldyck lived in an old-fashioned mansion half-way up Kukuroo Mountain, which overlooked the town of Padokea Park. The Zoldycks had lived on Kukuroo Mountain for generations and owned a good portion of the land (a small part which had been generously donated to the state and transformed into the Kukuroo Mountain National Park), which had earned them quite the respectable reputation within Padokea Park (which perhaps had more to do with the family’s money than their good sense of character). The house was very old but well-kept, a mean feat considering the size of the estate and grounds, which stretched for hundreds of acres.

Whilst the house and grounds were on a grand scale, it was sometimes difficult to juggle between five siblings, each with wildly different hobbies and interests. As such, to avoid the pestering of younger siblings, and the creepy oversight of Illumi and Millluki, Killua had long ago staked claim over the shed at the very rear of the Zoldyck property, which was situated even further up the mountain and could only be reached by a dirt track that weaved all the way up to the peak itself (though Kurapika had long suspected that the Zoldyck siblings could have found any spot on their property blindfolded and walking backwards if they so wished,). Which is why, when Kurapika finally made it to the Zoldyck house, he simply checked in at the security gates before peddling towards the mountain track, ignoring the house altogether.

The Zoldycks had a proper shed at the rear of the house, in which Zeno often wasted away his time building strange contraptions. Killua’s shed, however, was an innocuous little building constructed entirely from wood ages ago by Zoldycks long dead. It consisted of two rooms: one large and spacious, which had cabinets for boardgames, books, and other odds and ends, as well as a rectangular table with chairs which Killua had bought so they could play tabletop boardgames; whilst the other room was small, little more than a closet that the boys had yet to find a use for. It was a little way from the house, but it granted them all the privacy they could ever want.

As Kurapika walked his bike up the path and reached the clearing, he found Killua and Gon sitting just outside the shed. The shed sat in the middle of a wide clearing surrounded by a dense thicket of pine. The clearing was so large that the sun could breach through on all sides, essentially encasing the shed in light during the day. Gon and Killua were splayed out on the grass, clearly enjoying the sunshine bearing down upon their freckled shoulders.

As soon as Gon caught sight of him, he sprang to his feet with a cheery shout: “Pika! You’re here!”

“Took you long enough! You call that twenty minutes?” Killua grumbled, dusting himself off as he got to his feet. His bitter words could not disguise the wry smile on his face, however.

“Sorry for wanting to sleep in on a Sunday.” Kurapika replied, leaning his bike gingerly against the side of the shed. He did not want to scratch it up more than it already was. It was a little beat-up from overuse – the tires constantly needing to be patched up or replaced given that it was nearly five-years old - but it was his only mode of transportation until he finally saved enough money for a car.

“There’s no time to sleep!” Gon said, striking a heroic pose; “We are on the brink of discovery!”

“Yeah, what he said.” Killua snorted.

“The brink of discovery? At half past ten on a Sunday?”

Doubt crept into Kurapika’s voice. He was willing to bet that the discovery was just another hot-off-the-press video from darkhunter.com streaming and ready to go, a new tabletop game, or even the blueprints for a zany new device that Killua had dreamed up in the early hours of the morning (now that he thought about it, both Gon and Killua had dark circles under their eyes, but they looked chipper all the same). Not that he minded such things, but he liked sleeping in too.

“You bet!”

Kurapika shrugged, “Okay, then. What _do_ you have planned?”

“You’re going to _love_ this.” Killua said, blues eyes glittering with excitement. “Me and Gon have been awake for hours now – and, well, you’d better see for yourself.”

It was safe to say that Kurapika had never seen Killua so genuinely excited before. Not that he had never seen Killua be enthused before – he knew well enough, considering they had all stayed up late to watch the cinematic trailer release for the _D-Hunter_ movie adaptation a few years back at Leorio’s house. But this. This energy was entirely different. Even Gon, who was the human incarnate of enthusiasm, was thrumming with an unprecedented sense of excitement. The two looked ready to burst like a pair of balloons at a children’s birthday party.

When Killua swung open the door, the last thing Kurapika expected to see was a man, gagged and tied down to the table with chains. As the door swung open the man lifted his head as far as the restraints would allow, his eyes blown wide as Killua, Gon, and Kurapika stepped over the threshold. For a moment, his gaze lingered on Kurapika, before he laid back down on the table again. Something like a weary sigh wracked his body.

“Okay, what’s going on?” Kurapika whispered into Killua’s ear, unnerved at the sight of the stranger effectively strapped to the table. “Why is there a random man in here?”

“He’s the surprise.”

The confusion on Kurapika’s face must have been evident, because Killua elaborated: “I caught him further up the mountain. He triggered one of the traps and got caught in a pitfall.”

There were at least a dozen traps set up on the Zoldyck property. An almost photographic memory ensured that Kurapika knew where each and every last one was placed, given that over the first summer break he had shared with the others, they had helped him to build and lay them out. That had been just under five years ago. He had even designed a few himself and shared the designs on darkhunter. He had never imagined one would actually get set off, however.

Gon grinned, his white teeth flashing: “This is the find of the century.”

“This is a joke, right?” Kurapika said, a nervous laugh bubbling up his throat. This man must be a family friend of the Zoldycks, probably Illumi given the man’s advanced age and overall off-putting aura. Or maybe he was just so desperate to make a buck that he would let Killua drag him in on a silly joke. A worse alternative would be that Killua and Gon had straight-up kidnapped some poor hiker who had wandered too far off track in the National Park. Given the wide-eyed look the man was shooting at him, he had a sinking feeling it was the latter. Oh. _Oh, no._

Killua shook his head, “Nope. This is the real deal.”

“If we get even one video of it, we’re gonna be famous!” Gon said, “We could have the next _Monster Hunters_ on our hands.”

That was a stretch, but Kurapika knew that Gon could not help but compare everything to his estranged father’s accomplishments. _Monster Hunters_ , a popular monster hunting show, was the creation of Ging Freecs, and had been treated with much more care and affection than the man’s own biological child. The show was burned into the subconscious of every child and adult under the age of thirty, having been a popular staple of peak hour television for years during its initial run, right up until its premature demise (though it still remained popular years after, having garnered quite the cult following despite its tragic cancellation and the overall public distaste for its creator). Kurapika and his friends were no exception. It only made sense that Gon would want to follow in Ging’s footsteps.

“From memory, your dad never allowed fake encounters on his show. Re-enactments, yes, but he never put stock into fake encounters.” Kurapika pointed out. To Ging’s credit, the re-enactments had been scarily good. When he was in elementary school, the episode with the Kiriko beasts had given him nightmares for weeks, even if it had just been some guy in a costume simply re-enacting an eye-witness’ account and a few artist’s interpretations of the beasts.

“It’s not fake, dude.”

The man on the table did not even remotely resemble a dangerous creature, nor any sort of supernatural entity that would appear on a show like _Monster Hunters_ , much less on _darkhunter.com_. No, he looked woefully normal, with his straight black hair, flat grey eyes, and dark clothing. Given the dirt caked on his face and clothing, maybe he had fallen in one of the traps. Well, if anything, he looked like a man who had not quite learned to let go of his goth phase. Contrary to the popular opinion of everyone over forty-five in Padokea Park, that did not make him a monster.

Tiring of the frankly tasteless joke, Kurapika rolled his eyes, “You guys can cut it out now. Let this poor guy go.”

At being mentioned, the man’s gaze flickered to Kurapika and he mumbled nonsensically beneath the gag, sounding altogether not pleased with his predicament. Grey eyes hardened; his stare pointed as he shifted uncomfortably against his restraints. Either this guy was a very good actor, or he was sick of the joke too. Kurapika was betting on the latter.

“It’s not a joke!”

“It’s the real deal!”

“Yeah, right.” Kurapika said, before walking right up to the table. The man shifted away, clearly wary of him, but Kurapika ignored him as easily as he had Killua and Gon’s protests and began to loosen the chains. Whoever this guy was, and he was beginning to seriously doubt he was in on the joke, they would be lucky if he did not press charges.

A panicked shout came from Gon and Killua and they both came up behind him to tug him away from the table. The two boys tugged at his arm and shirt, trying to pull him away. They were acting bizarre!

“Get off!” Kurapika said, still ceaselessly trying to untie the restraints. The man struggled against the restraints; his eyes wide as the boys tussled.

“Pika, no!”

“Don’t!”

Kurapika grit his teeth, pushing back against Killua and Gon. It was no mean feat – the other two were barely two years younger, and both just as fit. Fighting them both off was damned near impossible. He did not want to hurt his friends – just the opposite, in fact. Temporarily letting go of the restraints, Kurapika shoved Gon in the stomach and kicked Killua’s legs out from under him, careful to use only as much force as necessary. It was a near thing, but in the end, Kurapika was able to shrug them off. _Thank god for those lessons at the dojo_ , Kurapika thought.

Knowing that Gon and Killua would recover quickly, Kurapika worked quickly to loosen the last of the chains holding the man. They clattered to the floor noisily, as loud as thunder as they struck the floor.

It all happened quickly.

The world fell out from beneath Kurapika’s feet.

A cry tangled itself in his throat, as he toppled over backwards. The walls loomed suddenly until Kurapika found himself staring up at the ceiling, pain shooting over his body as he collided bodily against the dusty wooden floor. A dull pain reverberated through his head from the impact against the floorboards, he was barely aware of the rough wooden boards against his fingers and a loose nail tearing through his jeans.

Then the man was on top of him. Those grey eyes were now coal black, two depthless holes in the man’s face, threatening to draw him in. The gag had loosened and when the man lunged at him, where there should have been blunt teeth was instead a set of dripping jaws. A scream lodged itself in Kurapika’s throat and he barely had time to throw his arms up to push the man back, only just keeping him from tearing his face off. He felt his strength fading by the second, inferior in every way to this tall, stocky creature, feeling its muscles ripple against his body and hearing the sound of its jaws fruitlessly snapping at him, wet strings of saliva dripping over his neck and face.

The muscles in Kurapika’s arms screamed as he tried to keep the man, the creature, whatever the hell it was, off him. It was like trying to stop a speeding car, a metal block hurtling at him at inhuman speeds, threatening to reduce him to a bloody smear on the asphalt.

Screams that weren’t his own tore up his ear drums. He was suddenly bathed in warmth, and for a moment, Kurapika thought it was his own blood. Then the weight crushing his chest disappeared and Kurapika realised that the shed door had been thrown open, flooding the room with sunlight.

Kurapika scrambled back mindlessly, the only thought running through his head to get as much space between himself and that thing as possible. When his fingers were dragging against dewy grass not dusty wooden planks, he finally stopped, collapsing against the ground. The creature fled in the opposite direction, huddling in the back of the shed, smoke curling off its hulking frame. Its dark eyes stared back at him, its jaws still dripping with murderous intent.

“Kurapika!”

He looked up, distantly aware that he was being shaken like a rag doll. Gon and Killua were kneeling beside him, their hands on his shoulders, their eyes wide with concern.

“Are you okay, Pika?”

“Breathe!”

Pointed teeth and rabid eyes burned in the forefront of Kurapika’s mind, unable to be shaken by the reality of warm fingers on his back or the concerned voices of his friends which seemed so far away. Surely, surely there was a logical explanation for all this? Was that man sick? Was that why he had attacked him? …but that did not explain the _smoke_ still steadily rising from the man’s limbs… almost as if the sunlight had _burned_ his skin.

With his chest rising and falling erratically as he struggled to catch his breath, Kurapika asked hoarsely more to himself than his friends: “Wh-what the _hell_ is going on? What _is_ that?!”

“We don’t know.” Killua said, his voice barely a whisper poking through the panicked haze that was Kurapika’s mind; “But we do know it set off one of the traps last night. When I checked the pitfall this morning, I found it. It tried to attack me, so I called Gon over to help me get it into the shed. I tried to use the rope on it at first, but it tore it to pieces!”

“It was insane!” Gon said, nodding; “He just snapped it like a thread! So, then we went back here and fetched the length of holy chain. As soon as we looped that around him, he stopped struggling immediately! It was amazing.”

Most of their gear, they bought online from like-minded individuals in the monster hunting fandom or they put together themselves, using materials from the hardware store. But the holy chains had been a gift from Kite, who used to be a crewmember on Ging’s show. After the show’s cancellation, he had left the limelight for good and faded into obscurity. Nowadays, he lived alone in Padokea Park with no company other than his dogs. In his basement, Kite had boxes and boxes filled with _Monster Hunters_ memorabilia and old equipment from back in the day. He had been all too happy to offload most of it onto Gon and the others (much to their excitement). According to Kite, the chains had been blessed by a priest and anointed with holy water to grant protection against evil. Surprisingly enough, it seemed to have worked.

“Yeah, then we dragged him back here. Even with the chains, he put up a hell of a fight though.”

“It doesn’t like the sun; we’ve figured out that much.” Gon supplied, a weak smile on his face.

“It’s… it’s not possible.”

The words felt frail even as they left his tongue, as Kurapika stared at the creature huddled in the shed. Its eyes blazed with something dark as it stared back at them, the smoke starting to dissipate. It was right there in front of him. Nothing had ever looked so real. The wicked teeth, the saliva dripping down its chin, the eyes practically burning holes into his flesh, its distaste for them all abundantly clear – how could he deny it, when it was staring him right in the face?

“That’s what I thought,” Killua said, still rubbing Kurapika’s back. “But you should have heard it screaming when we dragged it across the clearing to here. I think we’re lucky it didn’t burn up – it was still pretty early.”

_“Lucky?”_

Whatever that thing was, it was undoubtedly dangerous. If it had happened to burn up, Kurapika did not think that would be much of a loss.

“Listen, you’re in a state right now.” Killua said, keeping one hand steady on Kurapika’s back as he helped him to his feet. “But Gon and I? We have a plan.”

Feet shifting unsteadily in the dirt, Kurapika’s legs shook, but somehow, he kept his balance. _A state?_ That was one to put it. Even now, he did not dare take his eyes off the shed, barely able to make out the creature shuffling around in the back, its heavy gaze still set on the three of them. The smoke had disappeared completely, but the creature looked no less angry. Whatever this plan was, Kurapika seriously doubted that they would be able to contain a creature like _that._

“You’ll see, Pika. You’re gonna love it!” Gon chirped as he shut the shed door, hoisting the chains around the handle, and padlocking it shut once again. Splinters and dust showered down upon him as he tugged on it for good measure, as if to show off to Kurapika when the door did not budge. It did not make Kurapika feel safer, not one bit.

“What is this plan of yours, exactly?” Kurapika asked, letting Gon and Killua lead him away from the shed and back down the path towards the house. With every step further away from the seemingly innocuous shed, he felt distinctly lighter. It was only the sturdy hands on his back that kept him from high tailing it down the dirt track and away from the Zoldyck estate for good.

“It’s like I said before,” Gon said brightly, “We’re going to catch that thing on film.”

“This is our chance to show everyone that our world is so much bigger than we thought!” Killua added.

Their excitement was tangible, but Kurapika could not shake the feeling of a heavy body pinning him to the ground with a supernatural ease, nor the sensation of sharp teeth lunging at his neck.

Kurapika shuddered, “That thing is dangerous. I think you should get rid of it.”

“Are you joking?!” Killua scoffed, “That’s the find of the century, sitting in _my_ shed! I’m not gonna get rid of it.”

“What if Alluka finds it? Or Kalluto? What then?”

The way the siblings’ all ran amok across the Zoldyck property, well, Kurapika knew it was only a matter of time until one of them snuck in and saw it. Or if it escaped… either way, the results would be disastrous.

“They’re not going to find it, you’re overreacting!” Killua said, “I’m going to keep it locked up. There’s no way it’s going to get out, not if I can help it.”

“Someone is going to get hurt!” Kurapika said, shaking at the memory of phantom claws pinning him to the ground, jaws snapping at his head. “It already tried to get me; the next person won’t be so lucky.”

Gon shook his head, “Kurapika, this is the proof we’ve always wanted.”

“We can’t just throw this opportunity away.” Killua said indignantly, “You of all people should agree with us. You designed most of those traps – and the one that it stepped on! Our research and all our work has finally paid off. You can help us, Pika!”

“Help us keep it under control.” Gon urged.

“You’re the brains, here.” Killua said, “Gon’s right. You can help us keep it under control! Just one of your traps managed to keep it locked down on the property, imagine what you could do with that knowledge. The minute things start go downward, I agree, we get rid of it. But we shouldn’t just throw away an opportunity like this.”

The opportunity to study a creature like that was downright irresistible. In all his time at Padokea Park, he had bonded with the others over their shared love of _Monster Hunters_ , and had spent hours and hours researching, crafting, and imagining how to interact with mythological creatures. Even so, he had never dreamed that he would get a chance like this. Now that the opportunity was staring him right in the face, he felt torn.

“How?”

“Use that knowledge of yours. You already designed one trap that works. We could design more, research this creature, and find out its strengths and weaknesses.” Killua said.

“Imagine if we found more creatures! This knowledge could totally transform the way we view the world around us! My dad has spent all his life hunting mythical creatures.” Gon said, “And now we have definitive proof that they exist! All his work means something, and I think we have a duty to share that.”

There it was. That fierce determination that steered Gon Freecs’ every move, the sheer desperation to emulate his estranged father and get the chance to see him again. Kurapika knew that Gon would never rest until he saw his father. And this creature? Gon clearly saw it as an opportunity to get Ging Freecs’ attention. Which meant he would never let such an opportunity slip through his fingers.

As for Killua? Well Kurapika knew that Killua would do anything that Gon wanted. The two were inseparable, and Killua always went along with Gon’s crazy schemes. Then there was the matter of his family – the chance to make a name for himself outside the shadow of the Zoldyck family was clearly important to Killua, even if he had never stated it aloud.

One way or the other, Gon and Killua would keep the creature, with or without his blessing.

If he tried to stop them, they would go ahead anyway.

The pursuit of knowledge was tempting, but that thing was not human. It was something else entirely. There was a darkness to it. And whilst his friends might be able to see its teeth and its claws, they did not see its true danger.

There was only one thing he could do.

“Fine.” Kurapika sighed, knowing that arguing was meaningless. At least this way, he could keep an eye on his friends. The best way to protect them was to get as close as possible. “But the minute – and I mean the _very instant_ something goes wrong – we need to get rid of it. I won’t let you guys hurt yourselves, not for this. Not for anything.”

Gon and Killua nodded furiously, before barraging him with more words of assurance. Excitement began to bubble in Kurapika’s stomach, mingling with his anxiety, both set off by the prospect of the unknown.

.

.

.


	2. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ayyyy its a me, Leorio!  
> a few familiar faces join the cast.  
> Chrollo is a bit tied up at the moment. 凸(⊙▂⊙ )  
> Kurapika is conflicted by the ethical trappings of keeping an overgrown carnivorous pet in Killua's shed. You know. Normal teenager stuff. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for everyone who has left kudos and/or a comment!  
> i really appreciate your support (´∇ﾉ｀*)ノ

**MONDAY**

The morning breeze was unbearably cool as Kurapika trudged through the school gates, wishing he had thought to bring his jacket. The town of Padokea Park was on the cusp of autumn, and the weather still had not decided on whether to persist in the sweat-inducing swells of summer or to let the cooler winter winds settle in. His breakfast churned uneasily in his stomach as he made his way to his locker, already dreading having to see his friends. The second he saw them, that would make things real. That would mean that thing in the shed was _real_ , living and breathing as easily as the students bustling down the halls, slamming lockers and chatting before their morning lessons.

Sure enough, as he turned the corner, Leorio was leaning against his locker, nodding his head idly as Gon and Killua talked loudly. When he caught sight of Kurapika, a great big grin slid onto his face and he waved at him energetically.

“Hey, sunshine!”

Somehow, Kurapika managed to smile back: “Hey, Leorio.”

“These guys were just telling me that they’ve found something huge!” Leorio said with a frown, stepping back so Kurapika could access his locker; “Did you guys seriously all go to his house yesterday without me?”

Killua scowled, “You had work!”

“Still!” Leorio continued, pushing his glasses up his nose. “It’s the principle of the matter! You should have waited.”

Stowing away his books and grabbing the ones he needed for his next class, Kurapika rolled his eyes good-naturedly at his friends’ antics. Still, he even enjoyed their more annoying banter because that was better than nothing at all.

“This isn’t the kind of thing you wait for!” Gon said, practically vibrating. “You’re gonna be so stoked, Leorio! Clear out your work schedule, ‘cus you’re gonna want to be free.”

“My boss won’t like that.” Leorio said, shaking his head, “But I’ll see what I can do.”

“Tonpa’s a piece of shit.” Killua said, rolling his eyes. “I don’t understand why you haven’t quit alrea-”

“Hey, Kurapika!” a feminine voice chirped, cutting off Killua without a thought.

Just like that, the air seemed to frost over. Breathing in deeply through his nose, Kurapika turned around to see Neon Nostrade beaming at him with her school bag hooked over her shoulder, her bright blue hair tied up on top of her head and falling over her face in wisps, barely contained under the bright pink bandana she was wearing. When he spotted the true-crime book tucked under her arm, he wrinkled his nose with distaste (and not because of her overpowering and overpriced perfume).

“Hi.” He muttered, his smile not reaching his eyes. It was the most politeness he could muster at this hour of the morning, and towards Neon no less.

Just last year she had blubbered right here in the hallway, clutching at his arm and begging him to tutor her lest she fail her subjects, offering to pay him for his time of course. It had seemed like easy money and as far as he could tell, Neon seemed decent enough. So, he had accepted. What a mistake that had been. At all their tutoring sessions, she had seemed more interested in asking him questions about himself then in actually bettering her subject knowledge. He would have passed it off as an innocent, if annoying crush and left it at that, but no, she kept asking about his _parents._ It shouldn’t have been a surprise – small towns loved to gossip, and Padokea Park was no different – but she seemed determined to pester him, constantly asking about his parents and _that_ night, trying to get him to appear on her macabre vlog or to take selfies with him. It was all publicity.

Put simply, Neon Nostrade wanted an angsty boyfriend to match her online persona as a true-crime and occult enthusiast. And to her, Kurapika must have appeared to be a godsend, appearing seemingly out of nowhere in this little mountain town with more angst than she could have dreamed of. It made him sick to his stomach.

Neon smiled, sidling up to him: “Did you get my message?”

“I already told you I can’t tutor you anymore,” Kurapika said firmly, very aware of where her arm was pressed against his. A shiver of repulsion wracked through him. “I don’t have the time.”

_And you and I both know that you have no intention of studying_ , he thought bitterly. Even the prospect of the more than generous wage could not sway him. The humiliation was not worth the effort, nor Light Nostrade’s seemingly bottomless bank account.

“Oh, it’s not about that,” Neon said, still smiling. “I totally understand. But I sent you a message the other night asking if you want to appear on my vlog – I’m doing a piece on survivors this Friday and I want to hear from you. My audience wants to hear from you. You have so much valuable insight-”

With his stomach turning, Kurapika cut her off: “No. That’s not going to happen. I’ve told you already I don’t want to talk about that. Please, stop asking me.”

It was like a switch had been turned. Suddenly, Neon’s eyes were wet. She pouted: “But it’s the five year anniversary this week! I _really_ think you should talk about it-”

“Don’t you have a class to get to?”

Killua’s voice was cold, his face as hard as stone. Neon jumped, as if she had not even realised he was there. Given her record of ignoring everyone apart from her friends and her fascination for everything gruesome, she probably had not.

Meanwhile Kurapika had gone quiet.

Five years.

Had it really been five years? It felt much longer than that.

“Kurapika?”

The familiar weight of a hand on his shoulder broke him from his reverie. Leorio, Gon, and Killua were all staring at him, concern etched into their faces. Neon was gone, thankfully heading back down the hallway with a sour look on her face.

Leorio’s hold on his shoulder tightened, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Kurapika said, pasting a fake smile onto his face. The sudden cold feeling in his chest said differently, however.

“Honestly, _fuck_ Neon.” Killua spat, glaring at the girl’s retreating back. “Stupid braindead jerk.”

Gon nodded, “Don’t worry, Pika. If she tries anything, we’ll stop her.”

“Can I punch her in the nose yet?” Killua said through narrowed eyes.

“Killua!” Gon gasped, “We don’t hit girls!”

“Girl or not, she’s a real piece of work.” Killua said simply, still glaring at Neon’s retreating back.

“No punching.” Kurapika said, though the thought had certainly crossed his mind. He would never actually do it, but sometimes Neon tested his patience.

“C’mon, Kurapika, I’ll walk you to class.” Leorio said, winding an arm around Kurapika’s shoulders and nudging him down the hallway, his lip curled distastefully at Neon. He barely felt the weight around his back, mind already far away, focused on things that he had thought he had finally gotten the better of, and that were best left unsaid.

* * *

As soon as the bell rang at the end of the day, Kurapika went to his locker to grab his things before meeting up with Leorio in the parking lot in front of the school. On cue, they both loosened their ties, glad to be rid of the stifling article of their uniforms. It took no time at all before Killua and Gon filed out with the rest of the students and met up at Leorio’s car. It was a bomb, which Leorio had payed less than 70,000 jenny for, but it did its job in getting Leorio from A to B, playing taxi to his friends, and was a cornerstone of his job as a delivery driver at Padokea Pizza Palace. Which was all he needed it for anyway (though he certainly liked to dream about owning a sports car).

“Dibs on front!” Killua announced, tugging at the car door.

Following closely after to push him away and grab the door, Gon yelped: “Hey!”

Usually, Kurapika sat in the passenger seat. But in what had become a daily ritual as of late, Gon and Killua had would argue over the seating arrangements and vie for the prized front seat. Kurapika, who honestly could not have cared less and did not have the energy to argue, was happy to let them sort it out amongst themselves.

Waving the keys, Leorio glared: “It’s locked, genius. And who said I want you sitting in the front?”

“Screw you.”

Rolling his eyes, Leorio unlocked the car. Killua immediately jumped into the front seat, much to Gon’s chagrin. Meanwhile, Kurapika popped the boot and threw all their schoolbags in, along with his own bike, Gon’s bike, and Killua’s skateboard (which he clambered over the seats to pass him, annoying Gon even more). When they had all finally piled into the car, with Gon still grumbling under his breath and Killua crowing with triumph, Leorio pulled out of the parking lot and headed for the Zoldyck property.

* * *

Living in a small mountain town meant most things were close together, so it took them no time at all to drive up to the gates and sign in with Zebro, who waved them through as usual.

When they got to the shed, Kurapika’s breath caught in his throat. The memory of clawing at the dirt, his heart pumping a mile a minute as he scrambled desperately was still fresh in his mind. More so the memory of sharp teeth snapping inches away from his face.

If his friends were wary too, they did not show it. Gon was giddy, visibly bouncing on his heels as he flung open the door, escorting Leorio through with a flourish usually attributed to a waiter at a high-end restaurant. Rolling his eyes, Killua shuffled in afterwards, but there was a tell-tale glimmer of excitement in his eye as he dumped his schoolbag in the corner with the others.

Holding his breath, Kurapika stepped into the shed. Fiddling anxiously with one earring, he circled slowly to the couch, putting as much space as he could between himself and danger. The creature was back on the table again, tied up and gagged, presumably by Gon and Killua when Kurapika had left yesterday. It looked at them as they all shuffled into the shed, its dark eyes narrowed almost thoughtfully only to flinch as the sun flooded in through the door, stopping just shy of the table.

It was strange how _normal_ the creature looked.

Upon closer inspection, Kurapika could see that its eyes were grey, almost black in their intensity. It had what he rather thought a handsome face, with a strong jaw and defined nose, offset by its soulful round eyes. Almost deceptive. In fact, the only strange thing about it was the cross burned into its forehead. The flesh was mangled and twisted, almost as if it had been struck with a hot poker, but with curiously fine detail, the cross almost elegant in its design.

How long had it masqueraded amongst humans? How intelligent was it, really? Could it hold a conversation, or take note of social cues? Could it even talk at all? It had certainly fooled him yesterday when it had struggled on the table, its eyes wide in its head, almost pleading with him through the gag.

“Okay, why do you have some random guy locked up in here?”

In an almost haunting repeat of yesterday, Leorio was fooled, and Kurapika could not blame him for one second.

“That’s not a person.” Kurapika said, his fingers threatening to tug his earring out given how much they were shaking. “It’s something else.”

Leorio grinned wryly, “Yeah, sure. Funny joke, you guys. Is this one of Illumi’s friends? He sure looks creepy enough. No offence, Killua.”

“None taken.” Killua replied, looking amused by Leorio’s quip against his older brother. “But that’s not a human.”

“He sure looks like one.” Leorio said, still laughing at what he must have thought was a really lame joke. “And I think he wants to be let up.”

“Don’t.” Kurapika said, panic bleeding into his voice.

“Look at him!”

“Check this out, Leorio!” Gon crowed, sitting up on the counter and reaching for the lone window in the shed.

Before Kurapika knew what was happening, Gon had thrown back the curtain. Sunlight burst through spots in the dust-coated glass, randomly shooting out onto the table. The creature howled beneath the gag, its eyes snapped shut as it writhed back and forth, making the table shift dangerously beneath its weight. Smoke began to curl off its body, the flesh sizzling under the stray dots of sunlight.

Leorio yelped and scrambled until his back hit the counter. His face had gone white.

“That’s enough!” Kurapika said, when Gon had still not drawn the curtain shut. The creature’s mouth had snapped shut, pained groans filtering out from under the gag as it shook on the table. The message was clear in any language: it was suffering. “Stop!”

Finally, Gon shut the curtain and the creature collapsed against the table, its body still twitching from the pain. The smell of burning flesh gathered thickly in the air and Kurapika gagged, pushing open the shed door for fresh air.

“Wh-what the fuck?!” Leorio whispered, leaning on the counter for support. “What the hell is that thing?”

“We don’t know yet.” Killua said, “But we’re going to find out.”

The creature’s chest heaved, the chains around its body clinking with each ragged rise and fall. When it finally opened its eyes and looked at its captors, Kurapika could see the promise of violence in that powerful gaze. If it had been there yesterday when it had tackled Kurapika to the floor, it was tenfold now.

“This is a prank, right guys?”

Gon reached for the curtain again, but Kurapika gave him a warning look.

“It’s not a prank!” Gon said, stepping away from the window sheepishly. “It nearly ate Pika yesterday!”

_“What?!”_ Leorio sounded positively livid.

Kurapika avoided his gaze, “I told them we should get rid of it.”

“Yeah, but then we convinced him otherwise!” Killua pointed out, “This is our chance to do some real research! Not just dumb fan videos for _Monster Hunters_ like everyone else, but to create something tangible.”

Leorio did a double-take: “Wait, wait, wait! Don’t tell me you guys are planning on _keeping_ this thing?”

This boded well. Kurapika knew that Leorio, who was more sensible than the other two, would see the flaws in their plan. It would be easier to dissuade them if Leorio was on side.

“Of course. This is the find of the century, Leorio!” Gon said, “We’re going to be famous for discovering it.”

“We’re going to make videos of it and publish them on darkhunter. Can you imagine how much our research would be worth? We’ll be rich _and_ famous!” Killua added, rubbing his hands together in what was a startling, good impression of an old miser.

“This is what we’ve worked towards, Leorio.” Gon continued, “All that time making traps, researching monsters, and compiling notes. This is our opportunity to really make a difference!”

“But how dangerous is this thing? How are you planning on keeping it in here?” Leorio pointed out, frowning.

_That’s what I want to know_ , Kurapika thought. The logistics of keeping a creature as dangerous as this was mindboggling. It seemed like a task more suited to the armed forces than a group of nerdy teenagers.

“We already know it hates the sunlight, and it hasn’t managed to break the holy chains.” Killua said simply, “I know we can keep it here. Gon and I managed to drag it in here, we’ve had it for two days already with no problems.”

A frown worked its way onto Kurapika’s face. _No problems?_ That was hardly the whole truth.

Gon jumped off the counter, a grin on his face: “You need to think _big_ , Leorio! You want to go to university, don’t you? This could be your ticket there – if we make enough money you could pay off all your student debt!”

A ripple of hesitation crossed Leorio’s face. Ever since Kurapika had first met Leorio nearly five years ago, the other boy had talked about nothing but wanting to become a doctor. It was all he wanted to do. It was his dream job. One quiet night, he had even confided in Kurapika that he wanted to become a doctor to provide free healthcare and save people, like his late friend Pietro who had tragically passed away from a curable illness, all because he could not afford the treatment.

Becoming a doctor was Leorio’s dream, and Kurapika knew that better than anyone else. Leorio worked tirelessly, both at school and at his part-time job at the Padokea Pizza Palace, tolerating his awful boss Tonpa just for the chance to make money and earn money for his tuition. If he could make money from videos, well, it would make a world of difference in getting him through to university. There was no way that Leorio could refuse such an offer.

“Do you think so?” Leorio asked hopefully.

Gon and Killua nodded.

“Alright, I guess I’m in.” Leorio said, eyeing the creature suspiciously: “But we need to be careful.”

Kurapika sighed. At least Leorio was being cautious about the situation, that would help temper against Gon and Killua’s enthusiasm. Still, he could not help but worry as an uneasy feeling began to settle over him.

“So, how does this work?” Leorio asked, leaning back against the counter. “You guys have a plan, right? I assume you have a plan.”

“Yeah, we have a plan.” Killua said, exchanging looks with Gon. Judging by the expressions on their faces, there was no plan as such.

_That hardly inspires confidence_ , Kurapika thought.

Leorio raised an eyebrow expectantly.

“We uhhh… haven’t worked out all the details…” Killua said, trailing off awkwardly.

Sighing deeply through his nose, Kurapika said: “Which means you guys don’t have a plan, is that right?”

“It’s a work in progress!” Gon protested, “There’s just a few minor details we haven’t sorted out!”

“Ok, well, tell us what it is, then.” Leorio said, folding his arms. He did not look impressed. 

Killua beckoned them all in close: “Okay, okay. Long story short: we keep this thing in here. It can stay in the back room. If we move out some of the boxes in there, it should be roomy enough. Then we get to work figuring out what it is. We study its behaviour, figure out its sleeping patterns, diet, mannerisms, all of it. We just document _everything.”_

Leorio frowned: “How do we keep it from escaping?”

Killua shrugged, “Like I said, those holy chains are keeping it locked down. And Gon and I managed to drag it in here after it got caught in the trap, so if we figure out its weaknesses, we can keep it locked away safely. You saw how it reacted to the sunlight, right? Well, that’s how we dragged it in here in the first place, and how we trapped it back on the table yesterday.”

“It won’t escape if we’re careful!” Gon said in agreeance.

“Okay, imagine for one minute, we slip up. It escapes. What then?” Leorio pointed out.

Kurapika could not help but agree. They had already slipped up yesterday when he had let it loose. They were lucky nothing had happened.

“It won’t!” Gon said.

“Now, that’s just arrogant. We don’t know that it won’t!” Leorio said.

“Okay, but there’s four of us, and only one of it.” Killua said, “As long as we all pull our weight, I think we’re more than a match for it. We just need to be vigilant.”

“That’s not good enough.”

“Fine, what do you suggest, Leorio?” Killua said heatedly.

“We have to plan for the worst possible scenario.” Leorio said, earning a nod from Kurapika.

“Okay, fine, what’s that?”

“It kills someone.” Kurapika said quietly, making the others flinch.

It was a frightening possibility that they needed to consider. Given the creature’s behaviour, as well as its undeniable strength, he did not doubt that it was fully capable of mauling a human being. If Killua and Gon hadn’t intervened yesterday, he was certain that he would have been reduced to mincemeat.

Leorio nodded weakly, “Y-yeah. If it kills someone, what do we do?”

“We kill it.” Gon said simply.

“How?” Kurapika replied sceptically. Somehow, he doubted it would be as simple as running a kitchen knife into its ribs or putting a bullet hole between its eyes. “We’d need to know how to kill it to do that.”

Gon’s brow furrowed in thougth for a moment, then he exclaimed: “The sunlight! The sunlight hurts it!”

“Okay, so if it kills someone, are you saying we just put it outside?” Leorio asked.

That caused Kurapika to frown. The creature scared him, but killing it seemed decidedly harsh. Was it right to hurt it if it was just defending itself? Keeping it locked in here seemed wrong in of itself. So, to go out of their way to cause it harm seemed questionable to say the least.

“Why should we decide if it lives or dies?” he pointed out, feeling a prickling feeling at the back of his neck. He didn’t need to look to know the creature was staring right at him. As if it could understand what they were saying. Maybe it did. 

Leorio frowned at him, “It’s dangerous, right?”

“A shark is dangerous. A bear is dangerous.” Kurapika explained. This situation was far more complex than the others realised, and he hoped to show them that. “We don’t know if this thing has a moral compass or how intelligent it is. We don’t know what we’re dealing with. Do we have a right to play judge, jury and executioner?”

Killua blinked, “So, what? We just let it go?”

_Another variable_ , Kurapika thought. This was making his head spin, really. If they let it go, would it not just go and hurt other people? Was it _right_ to let it go, knowing that?

Kurapika shrugged, “Maybe. That might be what we have to do. Maybe we take Leorio’s car and drive it far away from here. On the other hand, maybe we decide to kill it, or, a third option presents itself. An option we haven’t considered yet.”

“This is hurting my head.” Gon groaned, clutching his head dramatically. “There’s so much to consider!”

“Now you’re thinking like a researcher, Gon. Whatever we decide to do, we need to proceed carefully.” Kurapika said with a smile. Maybe he was getting through to the others.

Looking frazzled, Leorio pushed his glasses up: “So, what? There’s no clear answers?”

Kurapika nodded: “Not yet. I think if we all put our heads together and work hard, we can make something of this situation. Something good. But we need to go about it carefully. There’s no room for cutting corners. And like I told you guys yesterday, if something goes wrong, we need to take responsibility. Whatever that entails.”

“You’re right.” Leorio said, “We’re dealing with something much bigger than ourselves. This creature is most likely not the only one of its kind. And if this creature exists, there’s probably countless others that do to.”

“ _The world just got a whole lot bigger!”_ Gon said, quoting his father’s classic line. The others could not help but laugh.

* * *

For a while, they all sat on the couch and beanbags talking excitedly about their find. Killua and Gon were all too eager to regale Kurapika and Leorio with the tale about how they had found the creature caught in the trap: it had set off one of the proximity alarms early on Sunday morning, sending an alert right to Killua’s phone. When Killua had marched up the mountainside to locate the trap, he had found the monster inside, and quickly called Gon over for help. The two had then spent the remaining hours of darkness to winch the creature from the trap and drag it into the shed. It had screamed something awful when the sun had begun to rise, or so they explained.

“There are a few creatures that are intolerant of the sun.” Kurapika mused, thinking back on all the numerous types of monsters that he had read about, and of course, seen interpreted on _Monster Hunters_.

“Yeah, it doesn’t exactly narrow it down, does it?” Killua added.

Kurapika nodded, “In terms of your plan, how do we figure out what it is?”

Killua grinned, “That’s where you come in. Kurapika, you always get top marks in every subject. You won that weird state research project a couple of years back. You’re a nerd. And I mean that in the _best_ way possible. If anyone can figure it out, it’s you. You love this monster hunter shit - I know you want in. So, we need you to help us figure this out.”

“Treat this like you would your research project. You’ve done it before when you helped us build those traps! You caught this thing, without even knowing it existed!” Gon said, smiling brightly. “You’re our top researcher!”

Kurapika bit his tongue but gave him a conceding nod. All in all, Killua was right: the goldmine of knowledge strapped to the table was certainly tempting. The promise of discovery was impossible to refuse. And Gon was very good at stroking his ego… he had caught this creature, indirectly or otherwise. The trap was his design and a culmination of his research. The fact the creature was here was proof of their potential to make a difference in how the world was perceived – they could prove that the impossible was possible. And that was an exciting thought.

“I can’t say I like this situation, but I _do_ want to support you all. And you’re right, I want to find out more about it just as much as you guys do.” Kurapika admitted with a smile.

“If Kurapika’s down, so am I.” Leorio said, settling back into the couch.

Both Killua and Gon grinned triumphantly.

“Okay, look at these pictures I took when I found it in the trap. What do you think?” Killua said, showing the screen to him.

Taking the phone in hand, the first thing Kurapika noticed as he flicked through the pictures, was that the creature was nowhere to be seen. The first photo was of the trap itself, and then the pitfall. The following pictures after that were just the forest surrounds, some with the trap and the pitfall, and some without. Brows furrowing, Kurapika held the phone closer. Nothing. There was just twigs, leaves, dirt, and grass.

That’s when Kurapika noticed it. The trap was not in its original state. It had been set-off. The cover on the pitfall was destroyed, caved in by the weight of whatever had stepped on it. The creature _was_ in the photographs, it was just invisible. A curious trait.

“It doesn’t show up in pictures.” Kurapika mused aloud, passing the smartphone back to Killua. That would make things tricky.

Gon grinned, “See our problem?”

“Have you tried filming it?” Leorio asked, taking the smartphone from Killua to look too. His eyebrows shot up comically as he browsed through the gallery.

“That was gonna be our next step.” Killua said with a shrug, “But I suspect that won’t make much of a difference.”

Furrowing his brow, Kurapika nodded, “So, the question we have to ask ourselves is: how do we make a creature that can’t be photographed, show up in a picture?”

The boys paused for a moment, considering this. It was burning questions like this that enthralled Kurapika, and which had drawn him to mythological creatures in the first place. How did these creatures blend in and survive amongst them? What were their strengths and weaknesses, their abilities, and strange powers? It had been fun to speculate before, but now that he was dealing with the real thing, it was so much more than that. Already, it was clear that this creature was difficult to catch photographic evidence of – which was probably a defence mechanism of some sort. If they could not make the creature show up on film somehow, then they would not have any footage of it.

So, if it were invisible in all formats, what aspects of the creature _would_ show up on film? If the creature interacted with the world around it maybe that would appear on film. For instance, if it picked up an object, or knocked something over, would that all show up on footage? It was logical to assume that the creature could exert control over itself, but not its environment. At least until they could determine otherwise.

Then there was the matter of the creature’s established weakness – they would not be able to film it during the day, at least not without shade cover, lest it burn to death. They would have to film most of their videos in the shed or wait until nightfall. No creature meant no videos.

Well, however they chose to proceed, they would have to be careful. A creature that was unable to be filmed, was likely a creature that did not _want_ to be filmed. And given Kurapika’s firsthand experience with the creature, he did not think it would be willing to cooperate with any of their schemes.

“Well, I think we should try filming it any case.” Leorio said, sitting up from the couch. “Then go from there.”

A murmur of agreement rippled amongst them. Mind buzzing, Kurapika stood up to grab his schoolbag, taking out one of his schoolbooks and flipping to an empty page. He began to take notes, listing down what they had established about the creature.

Meanwhile, Leorio took out his smartphone and switched to camera mode. He pressed record and began to film the creature on the table, walking back and forth along the length of the table to capture different angles and lighting. It was certainly a possibility that the light of the forest had made a difference in whether the creature was able to show up on film or in photos.

When he was done, Leorio gathered around the others, showing them his smartphone.

“See, here,” Leorio said, pointing at the video. “It doesn’t show up on the table on my phone, but the chains do – they’re clearly elevated around its body where we’ve tied it up. And that there? That’s the cloth gag.”

“Its clothes don’t show up on the camera, but the gag does?”

Leorio shrugged, “Maybe it’s an ownership thing, like it owns the clothes not the gag?”

“So, if it was driving its own car or was holding a pencil it owned, would that not show up in a picture?” Killua asked no one in particular.

Gon clutched his head, pulling at his hair: “Arggh! This is just creating more questions than answers!”

“Well, we don’t have anything it owns on hand, so I don’t think we’ll ever know.” Leorio said finally, still looking thoughtful. The mechanics of it all was certainly puzzling.

Half-listening, but more invested in his own spiralling thoughts, Kurapika continued to study the photo, inspecting it closely before taking notes in his book. This would be invaluable research, but more than that, it felt exciting to record his observations. Even if the situation unnerved him, this creature was a puzzle that he wanted to piece together. Despite his caution, Kurapika was just as interested in the creature as the others.

But as he took his notes, he could not help but feel a pair of dark eyes burning into his skin. When Kurapika looked up, his veins turned to ice as he found himself trapped like a deer in headlights. The creature was looking straight at him, it’s- no… _his_ eyes gleaming strangely. There was intelligence in his gaze, an understanding in his body language. The slightest tilt of his proud chin, or the incline of his head seemed to speak volumes. A shiver ran down Kurapika’s spine, and he managed to tear his eyes away, burying his face back into his notepad and refusing to look up again.

* * *

They ended up filming a few videos of the creature: one of it reacting to the sunlight (thankfully a short video), a 360 degree video of the creature sitting in a chair and Killua pointing out where the chains seemed to be hanging in mid-air, and a few others. The content was short and sweet, but after a few quick edits they posted all the videos to darkhunter and collectively crossed their fingers.

By the time Kurapika got home that night, the sun had set, turning the sky a deep shade of indigo. He wheeled his bike out the back, propping it on the back porch before heading inside. After offering a cursory greeting to Aunt Mira, who was in the kitchen preparing dinner, he headed into the loungeroom and collapsed onto the sofa beside his cousin.

“You’re home.” Pairo said with a smile, his finger stilling on his book where he had been reading his braille copy of _D-Hunter_.

“Sure am.” Kurapika replied, grabbing the TV remote. He flicked idly through the channels before landing on an old re-run of _Monster Hunters_. All it took was one glance at the screen for Kurapika to recognise the episode as the season two episode on the Jappon river spirit sightings. It was one of the early episodes, where Ging looked borderline attractive, a fact which kind of disturbed Kurapika now that he knew what a deadbeat dad Ging actually was.

“ _Monster Hunters_ again?” Pairo said exasperatedly as he recognised the dialogue stemming from the speakers.

“Don’t act so surprised.” Kurapika replied, smiling as Kite appeared on the screen to interview one of the witnesses. “This show is a national treasure, and you know it.”

“An undisputable fact,” Pairo conceded, setting his book down upon the coffee table. “But don’t you watch anything else?”

“I watch plenty of other shows.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Shut up.”

“Where were you? Gon’s house?”

Kurapika hesitated for a moment but said: “Killua’s.”

Somehow, talking about his whereabouts seemed more difficult now. The less people who knew about the creature, the better. Even if it was Pairo.

“Were you guys playing nerd games again?”

“You like nerd games too, Pairo.”

“Yeah,” Pairo said with a grin, “But I like making fun of you.”

“What about your day? Did you finally profess your undying love to Komugi?”

Unlike Kurapika, Pairo attended a visually impaired school in the next town over, which was more equipped to cater to his blindness as well as his cerebral palsy. Komugi, who had autism and was also blind, was Pairo’s long-time classmate and friend. Sometimes she would come over and the two would gossip, play computer games, and brainstorm new gungi strategies for her to use in her tournaments.

Pairo grimaced, “Ewww. No. It’s not like that.”

“Oh, really?”

“She has a boyfriend now.” Pairo said, making a face; “Which would be fine, but his friends are douchebags. So, whenever I want to hang out with her, I have to hang out with him, and he always brings his friends along. And jeeeeeeez. His friends are such morons. I can’t take it anymore.”

“Who is she dating?” Kurapika asked. He was surprised to be quite honest. Komugi was always the quiet sort who kept to herself. The fact that she now had a boyfriend was quite the development.

“Do you know Meruem Kingford?”

It was a near thing, but Kurapika managed to not fall off the couch in shock. _Meruem?_ Really?!

“The jerkwad in the year above me who has a massive superiority complex and gets his kicks from punching elementary schoolers into lockers? _That_ Meruem Kingford?”

Meruem Kingford was notorious for shoving anyone who dared to even look his way into lockers, snapping at the teachers who dared to talk back to him, was the suspected mastermind of several alleged crimes not limited to gang violence, and just being an overall bullying jerk. Despite his notoriety, he maintained excellent grades and was the superstar captain of the Padokea Park College’s Chimera Ants baseball team. He was a force of nature all by himself, but his teammates and friends were just as ruthless and downright mean, and wherever Meruem went, they would follow. There was absolutely no way that someone as kind-hearted and gentle as Komugi would give him the time of day and vice versa. They were like oil and water.

Pairo laughed, “Uhh, yeah that would be him. He’s nice enough, I suppose.”

“Nice?!”

Now that Pairo mentioned it, Kurapika realised that he had not heard a single horror story about Meruem since about halfway through last year. In fact, now that he thought about it, the boy had been quiet as of late, and instead of the usual sour look on his face, there was just a faint gentleness in his eyes that had not been there before. In fact, just last week, a ninth grader had accidentally bumped into him in the hallway at school, and _Meruem_ had been the one to apologise. At the time, Kurapika had thought it was some fever-dream or that Meruem had finally discovered hallucinogens, but no, apparently that had actually happened. Huh.

“Yeah, he’s so kind to Komugi, at least whenever I’m around them. She’s never said a bad thing about him.”

Still dumbfounded by the news, Kurapika leant back into the couch: “Komugi and Meruem… when did that happen?”

“Apparently they met at one of her gungi tournaments last year. She thrashed him and he’s been begging her for rematches every week since. He still hasn’t managed to beat her, but I don’t think he actually cares about that.” Pairo said dreamily. “It’s sweet.”

“I can never look at him the same way again, you know that, right?”

“And isn’t that wonderful?”

“But his friends?”

Pairo’s grin faded, “They’re a handful.”

Eyes flashing, Kurapika’s voice lowered dangerously, “They’re not giving you any trouble, are they?”

Ever since he could remember, Pairo had been on the receiving end of many a cruel joke. Kurapika had gotten into a fair share of scrapes on Pairo’s behalf, intent on hurting anyone who dared look at his cousin the wrong way (which had gotten him into trouble one too many times, but he felt justified in his anger). Kurapika had seen how Meruem’s gang treated those they deemed beneath them, which was pretty much everyone, and he did not want that attention directed towards Pairo.

“No, no. They’re just jackasses.” Pairo said quickly, which only confirmed Kurapika’s suspicions.

“I’m going to kill them.”

“No, don’t you dare!” Pairo said, tugging at Kurapika’s arm. “Stay out of it.”

“Fine. But if they make one wrong move, they’re answering to me.”

“ _Kurapika!”_

“What?”

Pairo grimaced, “Don’t do anything!”

“Fine.” Kurapika said, lying through his teeth.

If anyone messed with Pairo, if they so much as touched a single hair on his head, well… then Kurapika would make sure they never tried to do so again.

No matter what.

.

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿


	3. III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks to everyone who has commented and/or left kudos! i'm honestly so grateful for your support   
> without further ado, please enjoy  
> ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿

**TUESDAY**

After school, Kurapika found himself being rushed into Leorio’s car once again, with Gon and Killua all too eager to get to the shed as quickly as possible. The more free time they had meant more opportunities to research the creature. With that at the forefront of their minds, they rushed up to the shed, barely sparing a greeting for Killua’s younger siblings – both of whom looked wounded at the lack of attention – before heading up the mountain track with their bikes in tow.

After setting up and dumping their schoolbags down, they all got to work. Killua ducked down to the house with Kurapika at his heels, citing the need to grab things for the shed. By the time Kurapika returned, he found Gon staring at the creature strapped to the table, as if unyielding eye contact would reveal its secrets, whilst Leorio was sequestered away on the couch, putting a healthy amount of distance between himself and the creature (whom he had not warmed to). As for the creature, well, he looked very put-out indeed, staring blankly up at the ceiling with a noticeable divot in between his brow (And honestly, if Kurapika had been in his situation, he would be feeling much the same way).

Gon shot up as Kurapika opened the shed door, his gaze drifting to the laundry basket tucked under Kurapika’s arm.

“What’s all that?”

“Bedding.” Kurapika replied, setting the laundry basket down on the counter, before grabbing his schoolbag. “Killua let me raid the linen closet.”

“What’s it for?” Leorio said, sifting through the soft sheets.

Digging into his schoolbag, Kurapika retrieved three plastic water bottles, along with a few pieces of fruit and some salted crackers. Sifting through the pantry back home had given him the idea that perhaps the creature might appreciate some nourishment, and at the very least, water. The thought had struck him late last night that the creature had not had a single sip of water, nor a bite to eat for at least a couple of days. Despite Kurapika’s wariness of the creature, that sudden realisation had horrified him.

“If we’re going to keep him in here, he should be a bit more comfortable, don’t you think?”

As if he knew he was being spoken about, the creature lifted his dark head up off the table ever so slightly. As usual, his expression was indecipherable. A shiver ran down Kurapika’s spine.

Leorio made a face: “No, no, I don’t think.”

Kurapika sighed, gesturing to the creature: “Look. We don’t know what kind of creature this is, and even if he is dangerous, even prisoners deserve basic rights. Bedding, food, water, entertainment-”

_“Entertainment?_ What are we going to do? Read him a story?”

Rollign his eyes, Kurapika whacked him lightly: “Don’t be stupid. But if that’s what he wants, then maybe a story will do him good. But to answer your question, I brought my radio from home. I thought we could leave it on for him during the day.”

Music had a calming effect, right? If they just set it to the classical music station, maybe it would do some good for the creature’s temperament (though, he seemed pretty relaxed, all things considered).

“It’s a deranged creature, not a house pet.”

“Perhaps.” Kurapika said with a shrug, “But we don’t know what he likes or dislikes, and this is the best way to find out. I think he’ll be far more pleasant if we make his stay as comfortable as possible, don’t you think?”

“I guess when you put it like that, I can’t argue.” Leorio said, looking amused. Then he reached out and gently took the laundry basket out of Kurapika’s arms. “Alright, let me help.”

With Leorio’s help moving the boxes and old furniture, as well as Gon shouting suggestions, it took no time at all before they had rearranged the closet space into a pleasant little nook for the creature to stay. They laid down an old child-size mattress with a fitted sheet, some pillows and a duvet at one side of the closet for the creature to sleep on, and propped up a chair at the other end of the closet as a makeshift shelf, setting the portable radio on top, along with the food and water.

It was almost homely.

Throwing up his hands, Leorio gave Kurapika and Gon a round of hearty high-fives.

“Great job!” Leorio said, “We could go into interior design if this monster hunting business goes south!”

Now, that was certainly a stretch (even if it did look rather comfy). But Kurapika would take the compliment, nonetheless.

“No thanks!” Gon replied, receiving Leorio’s high-five with exuberance.

“It’s a joke.”

“Still, no thanks!”

“I don’t know, I think you’d make a great designer, Gon.” Kurapika said teasingly, knowing how much the very notion disturbed Gon. His friend was so wrapped up in becoming a monster hunter, that the very suggestion of having to take up a different career seemed to disturb him. 

Dragging his hands down his face, Gon looked mortified: “Not you too!”

“Looks like it’s just you and me, Kurapika.” Leorio said, shoulders sagging with feigned sadness. He threw his hand across his forehead, looking remarkably like a princess brooding at a castle window.

“I guess so.” Kurapika said mournfully, joining in with Leorio’s pity party. “Gon doesn’t like us anymore.”

“Guys, no! It’s not like that!”

“Oh, whatever will we do?!” Leorio cried, burying his face in his hands and collapsing onto the mattress. It took his weight rather well, a nod to the quality of everything the Zoldycks owned (even things they no longer had any use for).

“I’m full of despair.” Kurapika said, pretending to faint, only to fall backwards onto the mattress beside Leorio. To his immense delight, it was extremely comfortable. Hell, it was better than his mattress back home. The creature would not suffer from a sore back, that was for sure.

“Nooooooo!” Gon bellowed, tackling them both onto the pillows.

_“Ooof_ -Gon!”

“He loves us!” Leorio gasped, disbelieving, grunting as one of Gon’s hands smacked him in the face.

A wheeze escaped Kurapika’s throat as he clutched his stomach, the wind knocked from him, only for a clothed foot to nudge him in the face. _Ughhhhh, Gon._

“What the heck are you guys doing?”

Peeking out from beneath the cushions, Kurapika looked to see Killua standing in the doorway looking very confused. His eyes drifted from the creature strapped on the table (who at this point, looked entirely ready to dust his hands of humans), to the DIY cubby in the storage, to his friends all dogpiled on the mattress. What a sight.

“Gon hates us.” Leorio said, as if that explained everything.

Kurapika made a muffle noise from beneath Gon’s foot, but between the sock and the pillows stuffed in his face, he was effectively drowned out.

“Right.” Killua said, nodding. _“Right.”_

Then he ran at them full speed and launched himself into the pillow pile. For a moment, there was a lot of yelling as limbs struck awkwardly as all the boys collided. Kurapika felt an elbow drive into his back and a shin collide with his nose, as well as what felt like Leorio’s glasses flying into his foot, but he was too busy laughing to care. When they finally separated, there was a myriad of bruises shared amongst them as well as lots of laughter.

“Where were you?” Gon asked Killua, sitting up to let Kurapika breathe.

“I went and saw Grandpa and I got these from him!” Killua said, holding out a pile of metal handles. “He’s got all sorts of junk he doesn’t need, so he was happy to part with them.”

“What are they for?” Leorio asked, frisking the pillows for his glasses. He smiled gratefully as Kurapika handed them to him.

“We’re gonna nail these in here to loop the chains through.” Killua explained, gesturing to the closet walls. “Our little houseguest isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. That’s for sure.”

It was certainly a better alternative to keeping him chained up on the table all the time. Whilst the situation was not ideal, at least this way, the creature would have a little space to move, as well as the comfort of a bed.

Gon looked impressed, “Nice!”

“Will they hold?” Kurapika asked, doubt bleeding into his voice. He hoped it would work, but the creature was strong. Very strong. Trying to push him away had been like pushing against a brick wall. The handles seemed so flimsy in comparison.

“Won’t know until we try, will we?” Killua said, “But we’ll give it a test run, don’t you worry.”

“A test run?” Whatever that meant. By the sounds of it, it would probably require all of them there in case anything went wrong.

“Yeah, but we’re losing daylight. I think we should head to the trap now, while it’s still intact.” Killua said, “We can nail the handles in and give it a try after we get those photos.”

The four boys got up and headed out of the shed, double-checking the creature’s restraints, and locking the door behind them for good measure.

* * *

The trap in question was located further up the mountain, positioned not far from the imposing fence that bordered the entirety of the Zoldyck lands, separating it from the side of the mountain that made up part of the Kukuroo Mountain National Park. It was not too difficult to imagine the creature having cleared the fence, before wandering into the Zoldyck property and stumbling into the trap, especially in the dead of night when the trees seemed to loom and the woods seemed to close in, suffocating those within. Even a creature as dangerous as the one in the shed was not immune to the labyrinthine-like trappings of the Zoldyck property.

According to Killua and Gon, the pit was exactly as they had left it. The hawthorn branches outlining the pit were askew, probably where the creature had stumbled in and again where the boys had dragged him out. The bottom of the pit was covered in the splintered remains of the balsa wood and foliage cover that Kurapika had built to cover the pit with, as well as stray branches of hawthorn, twigs, leaves and a great deal of black ash. There were clear signs of a struggle.

They stood around the pit, Kurapika crouched by the edge, running his fingers through the hawthorn branches strewn around the edge. There were indents along all sides of the pit, as if the creature had tried to haul itself out, as well as a section of the pit wall that was crumbling, where Killua and Gon had dragged the creature out.

“This pit isn’t too deep. And the creature is fairly tall. I think he could have crawled out if he wanted to.” Kurapika mused, before he turned his head to talk to Killua: “Did you say he was uninjured when you found him?”

Killua scratched his head, “It was pretty early in the morning and it was pretty dark, so I couldn’t really tell, but Gon and I pulled it out of there without any trouble.”

“It didn’t seem hurt.” Gon added thoughtfully, “It was fine when we shoved it in the shed, apart from the burns.”

From the sunlight, Kurapika gathered. But at the time when Killua had found the creature, the trap would not have been exposed to any sunlight, which meant the sun was not what stopped him from escaping the pit. Something else had.

“It’s just a theory I read about, but I think the hawthorn might actually have apotropaic properties.”

The others blinked, exchanging confused looks.

Rolling his eyes, Kurapika translated: “It can ward off evil. I think the creature didn’t like the hawthorn surrounding the pit, that’s why he didn’t try to crawl out.”

The hawthorn was everywhere around the edges of the pit, which might explain the ash too. Kurapika had read in a few articles and books about apotropaic items and their supposed abilities and uses. Hawthorn was one of the plants that had appeared most in his readings as a means to ward off evil and fend off mythical creatures, so when building the traps, he had made sure to use some, just to test it out. He had done the same with garlic bulbs, mustard seeds, and a variety of plants, on some of the other traps scattered across the mountain side. It was beginning to look like the theories had some truth to them. 

Picking up one of the hawthorn branches, Killua’s eyes lit up.

“Let’s test that out, shall we?” Killua grinned.

Somehow, Kurapika did not like where this was going.

* * *

“Okay, and… we’re live!”

Whenever Kurapika had a bad feeling, a turn of the stomach, a shiver down his spine, he often found he was right. At a guess, his instincts were particularly attuned. So, as he found himself once again back in the shed with the others - Leorio with his smartphone livestreaming to darkhunter, whilst Gon approached the creature with a hawthorn branch held tightly in his fist – he could not help but wish he had listened to that sick feeling he’d had earlier and put a stop to this nonsense before it had begun. It was too late now.

The one comfort was that the metal handles seemed to be working.

After taking their photos, they had all made their way back to the shed, only for Killua to take out four hammers and a bucket of nails and direct them to start installing the handles in the closet. It had not taken long at all. Rather, it had been more considerably more challenging to restrain the creature whilst forcing him into the closet to loop the chains through the handles. By what could only be divine intervention, at least that’s what Kurapika was writing it off as, it had _worked._ Now, the creature was effectively trapped in the confined space, the give of the handles granting him minimal freedom of movement.

Which brought them back to the now, for Killua’s “test-run”, A.K.A. attempting to irritate the hell out of the insanely dangerous creature to test the strength of the chains and handles.

What could possibly go wrong?

Kurapika made a mental note to write up his will earlier than planned. 

So far, the creature just looked bored _._ He was sitting on the chair in the storage closet, the chains looped around the chair to keep him seated. It was astonishing how normal he looked. Like some annoyed older brother dragged unwittingly into a stupid video by his younger siblings. Despite knowing better, Kurapika could not shake the image. His fingers trembled around the front door, ready to throw it open at a moment’s notice. He was glad for the job – it put him as far away from the creature as possible.

Gon dragged the hawthorn branch along the floor, the leaves rustling noisily. At first the creature simply stared at him, no emotion in his pale face, no light in those dull eyes. He assessed the branch, looking thoroughly unimpressed.

“You guys can’t see it, but this creature is not reacting so far.” Killua narrated to their grand total of ten followers.

Slowly, Gon dragged the branch until it was just shy of the creature’s boots. The creature blinked. Suddenly, the branch jumped in Gon’s hand, and the reaction was immediate. The creature flinched, the chains around his body rattling with the movement.

Gon laughed, “Ha! Did you see that?”

“Fluke.” Killua crowed, “You scared it.”

Instinctively, Kurapika’s fingers tightened around the door. Was he imagining things, or was that sweat beading on the creature’s forehead? It could just be the effects of the heat outside.

“Fine.” Gon said, eyes narrowing with the delight of a challenge. Then he walked right up to the creature, the branch in his hand. The creature refused to acknowledge any of them, his face schooled with apathy. Whether his lack of concern was real, or carefully constructed, Kurapika did not yet know.

Gon lowered the branch onto the creature’s legs, the white hawthorn flowers tickling his black leather shoes and brushing against his slacks. The creature remained deathly still.

“Still nothing, you give up yet?” Killua teased, smiling toothily as Gon frowned.

“No!”

With that Gon, brought the branch closer, slowly trailing it over the length of the creature’s body until it was level with his stomach. The creature’s hands were now balled into fists by his sides, his knuckles white. The chains trembled ever so slightly. Kurapika bit the inside of his cheek _, Surely, the chains wouldn’t break? Not now?_

“Huh, I think he’s getting a bit uncomfortable now.” Killua said, “You guys can’t see this, but the creature is _sweating,_ it’s holding itself perfectly still and its clenching its fists. The body language really tells you everything. Awesome.”

Then Gon shoved the branch unceremoniously into the creature’s face.

There was a strangled shout and Kurapika’s blood ran cold as he realised the harsh, almost human sound had come from the creature. Even from the other side of the room, he could see the erratic rise and fall of the creature’s chest, dark eyes blown wide, his head wrenching so far away from the branch that the chair was threatening to topple. He looked horrified.

“Incredible… just incredible…” Killua continued, voice hushed. “See the chair tilting, guys? This guy does not like the hawthorn branch _at all_ , he’s literally trying to get away from it any way he can. Here that breathing sound – that’s not any of us! _That’s him!_ He is freaking the fuck out and it is _awesome.”_

It was awesome.

But it was also incredibly difficult to watch. Kurapika’s heart wrenched, sympathy welling up in his chest as he watched the creature struggle against the restraints. For a moment, Kurapika imagined that maybe he was overreacting, that his own experiences were making him imprint on the creature. But even Leorio, who did not like the creature one bit, looked distinctly uncomfortable watching him in pain. Testing the creature’s likes and dislikes was one thing but dragging it out unnecessarily was nothing short of disturbing.

“Guys-” Leorio began.

“That’s enough!” Kurapika piped up from the door at the same time, unable to simply watch on any longer. “I would call that a successful test, wouldn’t you?”

Indeed, the restraints had yet to break. Both the chains and the handles were perfectly intact. Though given their first encounter, Kurapika suspected that the creature was not showing off his full strength.

“C’mon, I think it’s had enough.” Leorio said, waving the other two boys away.

Thankfully, Gon lifted the branch away. Though both he and Killua looked a mite disappointed.

Not deterred, Killua continued to talk to the camera: “This is unprecedented. Our resident genius and top-tier trap designer Kurapika, get over here-” Killua shuffled closer to the door and dragged Kurapika into view; “- he designed and helped build the trap our guest here stumbled upon! See this hawthorn branch? We scattered hawthorn flowers and branches around the trap itself. This test today just confirmed that whatever this creature is, the hawthorn has a warding effect on it. Kurapika, do you want to expand on that for our viewers?”

Kurapika swallowed but nodded: “Hawthorn is one of many plants that is rumoured to have apotropaic properties. Put simply, it has a warding effect. In monster hunting circles, hawthorn is thought to protect from malevolent spirits, harmful magic, and is considered a sacred tree. Indeed, before we took our cuttings, we performed basic rites by asking permission and thanking the tree.”

As to how much of it he believed, he wasn’t sure. Indeed, his people back in Lukso were not so different, and he had been raised to treat nature with care and respect, having spent many a day with his mother in their garden, singing songs as they went back and forth with the watering can, planting seedlings, and murmuring gentle prayers as they patted down the soil. But he had not done that in a long time. When they had built the trap, asking the tree if they could take its branches seemed a little strange. But considering what he knew now, and the way the creature flinched at the mere touch of the leaves, it made him wonder if perhaps his people were right.

“Planting hawthorn around your house is believed to protect the inhabitants from malevolent spirits, whilst the flowers and berries have long been integrated into the customs of various cultures, whether that be for rites for funerals, or good luck and blessings for weddings and celebrations. It varies.” Kurapika continued, smiling as he thought about those days in Lukso. They seemed so far away. “Now we can see there is some truth in it. For whatever reason, the creature is vexed by this plant. Scientifically, maybe it simply comes down to the smell or taste of the plant, or maybe a biological reaction in the creature.”

“Fascinating!” Killua said, “Well guys, that’s all we have time for today. Join us next time for more thrilling experiments! It’s going to be a wild ride figuring out what kind of creature our guest is, and we can’t wait to share all our amazing finds with you!” 

At that, Leorio stopped recording. He gathered them all around to show them the video. It was odd to watch the playback, to see Gon dancing around with the branch, and the chains, seemingly elevated all on their own shifting this way and that as the branch was thrown about. Kurapika winced as he came into view on the camera, his voice sounding odd to his own ears streaming out of the phone’s speakers. Embarrassed, he looked away.

His gaze drifted across the room and settled on the creature. A tinge of guilt worried at him as he looked at their prisoner. The creature’s breathing was ragged, but his face was utterly devoid of emotion. It was as still as a lake, no ripples in the surface to reveal what lay beneath. And his eyes. They were dull, as lifeless as two stones set into his skull. Save for his uneven breaths, there was an unsettling stillness in his form. Finally, Kurapika could bear it no longer and looked away.

How long would this carry on?

Better question yet, how many creatures were there like this one? Did he have a family or friends, a people to return to? Did this creature even know how to socialise or to form bonds, much less the importance of relationships with other beings? It was upsetting to think this creature was the only one of his kind – there must be more of them, no, Kurapika wanted dearly for there to be more. He knew well enough of the terrible grip that solitude had upon the heart, how it wrenched painfully at his chest and pulled incessantly at every waking moment. It had kept him up many a night. He would certainly never wish loneliness upon anyone.

And that thought, it made him pause. A sudden nausea rose in his stomach. If this creature had family, or other people it called home, what right did they have to keep him here? Hell, even if he was the only creature left, that did not entitle them to keep him locked away and doomed to four walls. There was an undeniable violence in the creature’s limbs, a fierceness in his eyes that promised retribution. Kurapika knew if he got out, it would be messy. Someone would get hurt, it was inevitable. But he knew just as well that they could not keep him. An unwelcome voice in the back of his mind constantly whispered: _chaos theory._ One way or another, the creature would get out.

Which begged the question, once Gon and Killua had their videos, would they let him go?

They had to.

Right?

.

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ


	4. IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> kurapika is a nERDDDDD  
> illumi??  
> HISOKA.  
> gon and the boys play with fire  
> chrollo is having as much fun as one can expect (but his nurse is a cute blond, so debatable)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you everyone who has supported this story so far! please enjoy this instalment ໒( ♥ ◡ ♥ )७  
> have a very merry christmas (or whatever holiday you celebrate this time of year)!

**WEDNESDAY**

The school library was always busy during the lunch break. The seniors would often duck into the study areas, their arms laden with books, study material, and their laptops, their faces grim. Meanwhile, the elementary kids would race to the far end of the library where the picture-books, the toys, and the gameboards were all kept (the LEGO was particularly popular), whenever they felt like taking a break from running rampant on the jungle gym or the school oval.

Indeed, Gon and Killua had been quite surprised the first time Kurapika had convinced them to sit with him and Leorio in the library, only to find it was quite pleasant to spend the lunch break in there. The fact that the library computers could run _Kakin Empires: Gold Edition_ had sealed the deal, and now, all four of them would often sit in the library at lunch, especially during winter when the ice on the benches outside made it impossible to get comfortable.

Today, it happened to be perfectly sunny, the breeze light and pleasant and the sun shining brightly over a blue sky. The school oval was packed with screaming students all of whom were playing sports, sitting in circles, and gossiping furiously about the latest hit on Cyberflix, and just enjoying the brief reprieve from the gloomy classrooms. But Kurapika and his friends were sequestered away indoors, their noses buried in books on monsters and myths. Save for the occasional senior student with their head stuck in a textbook, the library was blessedly quiet for once. It was the perfect spot to do some amateur research.

Kurapika’s pen flew across the page of his leather-bound notebook at a furious pace. It had been a gift from Pairo a couple of birthdays ago, but now, now he finally had an excuse to blot its pages with ink. It was almost too beautiful to write in, but Kurapika felt like now was the right time. If he was going to document a mythological creature, there was no book that was more fitting.

Meanwhile, Gon was watching old _Monster Hunters_ episodes on his phone, his eyes lighting up every time Ging appeared on screen. Killua peered surreptitiously over his shoulder, half-watching the episode, his eyes occasionally drifting back to the thick book in his hands about the mythological creatures of the Dark Continent.

Leorio’s class had gotten out late, and unlike the rest of them, he had yet to eat. There was a sizeable book propped up on the desk, so he could discreetly eat his lunch, ducking behind the pages to lift his fork to his mouth, peering up over the spine every so often to hide from the librarians milling about. Luckily, they seemed more preoccupied with making sure the elementary kids kept the noise down and weren’t pitching books across the length of the library like it was a football field.

Brows furrowing, Kurapika looked at what he had written. Good enough. Using his fingertips, he pushed the book across the table to show the others:

  * _Sunlight is harmful_
  * _Aversion to hawthorn_
  * _Cannot be filmed/photographed_
  * _Holy chains can restrain him_
  * _Human appearance. Claws and fangs appear when attacking._



“This is what we have so far. It’s not much, but it’s a start.”

“I think it’s safe to say it’s a predator of some sort.” Killua said, “Those claws and fangs are no joke.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t narrow it down at all.” Leorio added, before ducking back down behind his book. After a quick bite, he emerged: “I mean, we don’t really know anything about supernatural creatures. So, those characteristics could be really common!”

“Or they might not be. There’s a grain of truth in mythology. It might not all be true, but some of it draws on reality.” Gon said, his brow furrowed.

“This is all very broad still.” Kurapika said, not disagreeing with either of them. “We could be looking at a demon, a malevolent spirit, a shapeshifter, or something else entirely. What we do know, is written right here. If we work from this list, we can try to narrow it down.”

“It doesn’t show up on film or in photos,” Leorio said, looking thoughtful. “Could it be a poltergeist or a ghost?”

That seemed doubtful. But whilst shooting down the idea entirely was tempting, maybe it was worth exploring.

“As far as we know, ghosts don’t typically show up in film or photos.” Kurapika said. It was difficult to sort the genuine from the fake, but most recorded instances of ghosts in film or footage were blurry. So far, there had never been a certifiable picture or film of a ghost. The creature in Killua’s shed did not even show up on screen, so that was one clue as to his true nature. “But they can influence the environment around them – throwing objects, making things move. That’s consistent with his behaviour. But as for the rest of his characteristics…”

Gon frowned, “Do ghosts have claws and fangs?”

“That’s difficult to say, perhaps they can warp their appearance to scare their targets.” Kurapika said, listing it down. Ghost sightings were reported so frequently, all with varying different stories and accounts, so it was difficult to attribute certain characteristics when all the accounts varied so starkly.

“And the hawthorn?”

“Well, hawthorn is said to ward off evil. If the ghost were malevolent, that would certainly work.” Kurapika said, trailing off thoughtfully: “But as to how he got trapped in the pit… or how the chains are keeping him in the shed…”

That made less sense. Whilst a ghost could interact with its environment, could it be trapped in an environment like a human could? Could ghosts _fall_ into pits or even trip over objects, or was it a case of the ghost appearing in the wrong place at the wrong time? Whilst the hawthorn may annoy it, surely it could simply disappear and reappear somewhere else? And how could a ghost, an ethereal being, be trapped by chains? It was difficult to say.

“Also, that doesn’t explain the sunlight.” Killua said.

Kurapika nodded, “You’re right. That isn’t a known characteristic.”

“That’s two characteristics that don’t quite fit.” Leorio said.

“Are we in agreeance then?”

“Let’s cross it out for now.” Killua said, “We can always come back to it if we’re wrong.”

Kurapika drew a neat line through ghost. It did not seem to fit the creature at all, but they had hardly narrowed down the possibilities.

“How about a shapeshifter?”

Gon frowned at the suggestion: “Wouldn’t it just shift into a smaller animal or something and escape?”

“Well, when you and Gon dragged it out of the pit, was there an opportunity for it to shift and escape?”

Killua nodded, “Oh, yeah. Definitely.”

“Unless its ability to shift is restrained by something, like energy levels. If it was tired, or stressed from being caught in the pit, maybe it wasn’t able to shift.”

It was all conjecture really, which made the whole process even more maddening. There had been a few _Monster Hunters_ episodes centring on shapeshifters, all of which presented different theories and different limits. Some shapeshifters were thought to only shift at night, or if the temperature was high enough, or under other extremely rigorous conditions. There were far too many possibilities. Honestly, Kurapika regretted bringing it up – but they couldn’t rule it out entirely.

Leorio groaned, “Seriously, how do shapeshifters even _work?”_

“Therein lies the problem.” Kurapika said, rubbing his temple. “No one knows.”

“Ughhh, _shapeshifters.”_

“Yeah.”

“I can see why dad hated doing episodes on them.”

“Well, let’s just cross it out for now. If all else fails, well, we’ll come back to it.” Kurapika said, getting more and more frustrated. Honestly, shapeshifters were just too difficult. So far, they had determined that the creature was not a ghost, and likely not a shapeshifter.

Tucking his lunchbox away into his bag, Leorio placed the book he had been using as a shield facedown onto the table. He pointed at what was a particularly gruesome illustration of a beast with horns curling from its head, with wings on its back, sharp teeth, and mutilated skin: “Okay, what about a demon?”

The picture had a slight resemblance to the creature, at least when it had attacked him. The teeth, to be precise. Ice dripped down Kurapika’s spine.

“I don’t think demons have an aversion to sunlight.” Gon said, “At least, I’ve never seen it mentioned anywhere. Maybe it depends on what kind of demon it is?”

“Maybe, maybe not.” Leorio said, “But that’s one characteristic that doesn’t quite match up.”

Drawing up a list next to demon, Kurapika put a small ‘x’ next to sunlight.

Killua pointed at the list, “Aversion to hawthorn?”

“It wards off evil, so one would imagine it would work on a demon.” Kurapika said, drawing a tick.

“Okay, but can they be photographed or filmed?” Gon asked.

Leorio frowned, “There’s been plenty of photos and films, but as to their authenticity…”

“Yeah. That or it could be a case by case thing – maybe it works on some demons, and maybe not on others.” Killua pointed out.

Kurapika shrugged and left the space next to the characteristic empty. There were just too many variables to consider. Then he considered the next point: “How about the chains?”

“Well, we don’t know how strong demons are. Some might be able to break through metal chains easily. Maybe this one can’t.” Leorio said.

“That certainly tracks.” Kurapika said, “In some reported cases that demons possessing humans are limited to the strength of their “container”. If this was a similar situation, maybe he can’t break the chains. They are holy chains after all – perhaps the blessing itself makes the creature susceptible.”

“Or they don’t have that kind of strength.” Leorio said.

“That too. Demons might not be all that much stronger than humans.” Killua said, “Or maybe some are just weaker than others.”

Nodding to himself, Kurapika put a tick next to ‘chains’.

“And claws and fangs makes sense!” Gon said, “Demons can have a variety of strange appearances.”

“Alright.” Kurapika said, considering the list after putting the last tick down. “So, some characteristics here match closely, others not so much. I think because demons are such diverse monsters, we can definitely list it down as a possibility.”

“How do we confirm if it’s a demon or not?” Killua asked.

Leorio adjusted his glasses, “Well, what are some common signifiers of demons?”

“A demon is a spiritual entity that may assume a physical or spiritual form.” Kurapika said, “Or it may possess a body. Demons can be conjured and controlled. But that’s rather difficult to determine. We know our creature is physical rather than spiritual, but assuming that he is a demon, we don’t yet know if he is possessing a body, or if this is a form he has chosen to assume.”

Leorio nodded, “Okay, in that case, let’s start off simple. What do demons like?”

Killua snickered, “Souls.”

“Eeeeeevil!” Gon sang, waving his hands eerily.

Kurapika rolled his eyes good-naturedly, “Okay, what _don’t_ they like?”

“Good.” Killua said, clutching his hands together mockingly as if in prayer.

“Evil, good, that’s sort of vague, don’t you think?” Leorio said.

“How about religious symbols?” Killua shrugged.

“Yes, and consecrated ground.” Kurapika said, “Anything with pure spiritual energy. They shy away from the light, the good, the untainted, however you like to put it. In some religions, demons are subordinate to a higher deity.”

“Satan, etcetera.” Killua said, picking at his nails.

Kurapika nodded, “Exactly. Others postulate that demons are less of a physical being as a force. Disease, pestilence, famine, these are all attributed to the presence of demons. But we are clearly dealing with something more… corporeal.”

“So, we could try reading it the bible or something like that?” Gon supplied, something like excitement bubbling in his features.

“Yes, that could work. Any religious text or symbols, anything like that is worth a shot.” Kurapika said, “If we get a reaction, then it’s certainly a good indicator that we have a demon on our hands. Or something similar.”

In all his readings, Kurapika knew that there were a few creatures that reacted adversely to spiritual benevolence and demons were only one of them. Still, it was a start. They were certainly closer than they had been at the start of the lunchbreak. But figuring out the creature’s identity was paramount – they needed to piece this puzzle together if they were going to keep the creature healthy and relatively happy. With that in mind, Kurapika buried his head back in his book, theories brimming in his mind.

* * *

The first thing Kurapika noticed as he and his friends drove up outside the front of the Zoldyck house after school, was the lone patrol car parked in their usual spot. As he clambered out of the front seat (miraculously, Killua and Gon had been happy to sit in the back that day), he noticed the ever-elusive Illumi Zoldyck at the front door, in conversation with two police officers. As usual, he did not look in the least bit bothered by what was happening around him, least of all the fact that two police officers were talking to him. Kurapika resisted the urge to shield his eyes as he approached, once again struck by the raw spectacle that was Illumi’s fashion sense. His aesthetic shifted constantly, as if he could not quite decide on what to project. Today, he had opted for a full-black wardrobe, complete with black cargo pants covered in metal rings and a 90s mesh top. Somehow, he always made it work and today was no different.

As the four boys approached, the officers began to leave.

“If we have more questions, we’ll be in contact.” One of them said to Illumi as he clambered into the patrol car.

“Okay.” Illumi said, his attention straying to his little brother. “Kil, welcome back.”

“Why were the police here?” Killua asked, his eyes narrowed with suspicion. Given their family history, Killua was still largely wary of his older brother. Kurapika was not privy to all the details, but Killua had told him enough about the favouritism of their parents and their less than orthodox methods of raising children. As he understood it, the Zoldycks had always favoured a raised hand over gentle words of encouragement, and firmly believed in fostering competitiveness between their children rather than any notion of healthy sibling rivalry. The amount of times Killua, not to mention the other Zoldyck siblings, had come to a school with a bruised cheek or mysterious injuries was tell-tale enough of their peculiar family dynamic.

“My associate has gone missing.” Illumi said, picking at his cuticles and looking spectacularly bored. “They seemed to think I might have an idea where he has gone. Alas, I do not.”

Killua frowned, “Associate?”

“Hisoka.”

Killua made a face: “Ughh. Hisoka’s gone missing?”

“Apparently.”

“Don’t you care? He’s your friend, isn’t he?”

Tilting his head, Illumi seemed to consider Killua’s question. After what was a considerably drawn-out moment, he finally nodded: “I suppose you’re right. But Hisoka is always disappearing. He’ll turn up eventually. I expect he’ll be gone a week, two at the most.”

It made sense. Hisoka Morow was something of a mystery to the town of Padokea Park. He was an eccentric man who had blown in from out of nowhere roughly three years prior, built a sleek bar slap-dab in the middle of the town with mysterious funds that no one could explain, and had established himself as a certified menace in the eyes of the townspeople for his persistently bad sense of fashion (Kurapika suspected he and Illumi shared notes, though whereas Illumi was often successful in working any outfit no matter how bizarre, Hisoka was decidedly not), homewrecking qualities, and overall creepy vibe. If anyone asked about his apparent wealth, he would simply press a finger to his lips and offer them a sultry wink. Which was his response to nearly every personal question ever directed his way. To his credit, the bar was a hit with both the young and old, drumming up more business than could be expected from such a quiet town, despite the rampant distrust of the bar owner.

As for Kurapika, well, he did his best to steer clear of the man completely. Which had turned out to be more difficult than he expected, considering that he had accidentally matched with the man on Grindr in his desperate attempt to find companionship of the male variety (oh, to be young, gay, and plagued by hormones in a small town), only to be inundated with a wall of obscene messages and a - surprisingly tasteful, all things considered - dick pic. He had deleted the app soon after (and had contemplated setting fire to his phone but had ultimately decided against it).

But to his horror, Hisoka was like a bad cold. He was persistent, showing up when you least expected it, and was _everywhere_. Whenever he was not at the bar, he was loitering on the Zoldyck property, going out of his way to annoy the family and in in particular, Illumi. It was not the most apt choice of word, but it was difficult to describe their strange relationship. Kurapika had caught them necking in Silva’s study whilst he had been trying to find one of Killua’s misplaced video games, and promptly gone to find a bottle of bleach to burn his eyeballs. Luckily, Hisoka did not bother him after the app incident, but he was certainly creepy all the same, offering him and everyone else who glanced at him flirty little waves and razor-sharp smiles.

There was just something… _not right_ about Hisoka Morow, but given the town’s propensity to drink their sorrows away and desperate need for a nightlife, they begrudgingly accepted his presence, in exchange for masterfully made cocktails, a surprisingly decent selection of spirits, wine, and beer, and a frankly killer dancefloor. Everything had a price – putting up with Hisoka had its drawbacks, but it had its upsides too.

“…hang on.” Illumi said suddenly, his eyes narrowing dangerously with such barely contained fury that it made everyone wince. The oldest Zoldyck sibling was a man who did not reveal his emotions often, and when he did, it made everyone in the vicinity shudder. “ _He still owes me money.”_

Then he turned on his heel, his hair flowing behind him like a tumultuous storm, and headed back into the house muttering darkly under his breath (and if Kurapika stared at his retreating back for a little longer than necessary, well, that was his own business, thank you very much. In his defence, despite his less than stellar personality, Illumi Zoldyck was not unattractive. And really, being stuck in a small town did not give you much in the way of options).

“C’mon, guys, let’s go.” Killua said, sticking his tongue out at Illumi for good measure.

* * *

The first thing Kurapika did upon entering the shed, was to check on the food and water he had left for the creature. As he opened the closet door, he discovered the creature laying on the mattress, curled up in the pillows and blankets. Eyes as black as coal blinked up at him slowly, clearly emerging from the recesses of sleep. Kurapika resisted the urge to smile at the sight of black cowlicks, sticking up like antenna from the creature’s head. Somehow, cute seemed like a word that should never be used in reference to such a being. And, yet.

Shaking his head of such thoughts, Kurapika glanced at the water bottles. There was half a bottle of water left, but the food was untouched. A frown worried at his brow. Did the creature even eat anything? Or had Kurapika simply offered it the wrong sort of food? The fruit and crackers had been selected on a whim, the easiest thing to carry from home without sparking any difficult questions from his aunt and uncle. But clearly it was not in the creature’s diet. Kurapika took the remaining bottles with a shrug, making a mental note to refill them and to find something that the creature _would_ eat.

It was at that moment that Gon began to designate roles to each of them, barking orders and directing them this way and that for their video. They pulled a chair out, and not without a bit of juggling (despite the creature’s sleepiness) they managed to lure the creature out of the storage closet and tie him down to a chair, which they positioned just beside the couches to give Kurapika room to make observations and Killua space to film. As usual, the creature was closed off in his behaviour. His handsome face remained passive, his lip curled ever so slightly, and his eyes as dull as ever. Kurapika was convinced it was a front. The creature was waiting for an opportunity, he just knew it.

With his leather-bound notebook balancing on his knees, and a pen poised in his hand, Kurapika parked himself on the couch, ready to observe the creature. Leorio had pulled up a chair beside the creature, with a bible in his hands, whilst Gon stood ready to narrate. Meanwhile, Killua sat beside Kurapika on the couch with his smartphone in his hands, his knobbly knees brushing against Kurapika’s.

“Three, two, one… we’re live!”

“Today, we’re continuing what may be a long journey into discovering what kind of monster we have here!” Gon said with a wide grin, gesturing to the creature. “We’ve argued and debated, and we’ve seen your comments too – keep those theories coming, guys! Now, we know a few things about it already. Our friend here doesn’t like the sunlight, it seems almost allergic to hawthorn and perhaps other types of plants with warding properties, and as you guys probably noticed, we can’t capture it on film or in photographs either! Which makes our job a whole lot more difficult, that’s for sure!”

At that, Gon gave the chains a telling tug: “Oh, and these chains are somehow keeping it locked down. Pretty cool, right? If this is your first time joining us, be sure to give our other videos a watch to see our journey of discovery from the beginning! The links are just in the description below. Alright, I won’t keep you waiting any longer – today, we’re going to test the creature’s tolerance of religious text!”

Stepping back to give room for the camera to focus on Leorio, Gon continued: “Leorio here is going to do some reading straight out of the good book – the bible! You guys have seen all the movies, read all the books, but now we’re going to test that all out on our friend here. If it reacts, maybe that will give us some insight into what kind of creature we’re dealing with! Take it away, Leorio!”

“Okay, I’m going to read a short passage here.” Leorio said, opening the bible. “This is John 3:16.”

Shifting in his seat, Leorio pulled his chair up closer besides the creature. Kurapika blinked at the sight, torn between laughing and wariness at what was to happen next. It looked almost comical, as if Leorio were going to read him a bedtime story. The creature certainly did not look concerned, and simply stared at the farthest wall as if Leorio were not even there.

Clearing his throat, Leorio read aloud: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Then something curious happened. A husky rumble sounded in the creature’s chest and his shoulders shook. He was _laughing_. Kurapika’s blood froze. It was as if the creature understood the words. And somehow, found the passage itself to be amusing. As if he were intelligent.

Killua whispered, “Holy shit.”

Kurapika looked over Killua’s shoulder to peer at his phone. The footage was playing back again. As usual, there was nothing on the screen, save for the elevated chains and Leorio sitting beside the creature, reading aloud, his voice wafting out from the speakers. But then the audio crackled, and the creature’s laughter echoed hoarsely out of the phone. The hairs on the back of Kurapika’s neck stood on end.

The creature’s voice could be recorded.

“Incredible.” Kurapika breathed, exchanging looks with Killua. That same awe was present in his eyes. Despite his reservations, it was difficult not to get caught up in the excitement when everything they knew was being challenged right in front of their very eyes.

“Well, it appears that the creature is not affected by Leorio’s reading.” Gon said, continuing to narrate, his eyes wide; “But it looks like it just laughed! Maybe it’s a sceptic?”

After a few more tries, with different verses and from different books of the bible, there was still no reaction. Maybe religious text simply did not affect the creature.

Killua stopped recording, putting his phone down momentarily: “Alright, theories?”

“Uhhh, maybe we should try another holy book?” Gon said.

Killua scratched his chin thoughtfully, “Or it could be that because there’s lots of text versions of the bible, right, so maybe some text versions are too modernised to work? The ones we tried are pretty new.”

“I’m not religious.” Leorio offered, closing the bible before propping it down on his lap. “Maybe there needs to be some _oomph_ behind the words, you know?”

Kurapika stifled a laugh at Leorio’s goofy hand waving but nodded: “You could be right.”

The improvised words of prayer, straight from the heart, whispered by a believer had far more power than the holiest of verses spoken by those who did not. It was a matter of faith.

“Well, none of us are particularly religious.” Gon said with a frown. “I think we need a staunch believer!”

While it was not an entirely accurate statement, Kurapika did not bother to correct his friend. Whilst Kurapika’s parents had instilled him with the values native to Lukso, including its spiritual beliefs, he had felt out of touch since their deaths. Of course, being surrounded by Pairo and his aunt and uncle had helped somewhat, but he had not quite gathered the strength to join in on their evening prayers, nor to retrieve the set of hand-carved Lukso prayer beads buried in the drawer of his bedside table. Even if he wanted to, he would not say the prayers of Lukso in front of the creature. It was not something to parade about for show or for the shock value of their videos. The people of Lukso were private in their culture and beliefs and it was not something to be shared so idly with the outside world.

Killua shook his head, “No. We’re not dragging anyone in here.”

Not bothering to hide his approval, Kurapika nodded: “Killua’s right. That’s far too dangerous. Not to mention, lots of people would want to get their hands on this creature if we don’t proceed carefully.”

“Yeah, but I think we need a priest at the very least to be able to test out if holy words or prayer work.” Gon said.

Suddenly, Leorio stood up and went over to grab his laptop from his schoolbag. Then he took it out, opened it up and placed it on the table in direct view of the creature.

“…I think you’re on to something there. But Killua and Kurapika are right. We can’t just drag people in here. But we don’t need a priest in here. Maybe we just need a recording of a priest. There’s a chance just the audio could be enough. It’s worth a shot, right?” Leorio said, bringing up the search engine.

 _Now that… that could work_ , Kurapika thought. Although, maybe audio or visual filtered through a screen affected its potency. But even if it did, they could not entirely write off the possibility. It was worth a shot in any case.

For a minute, Leorio browsed through several videos on HunterVideo, a popular video streaming service. There were literally millions of different videos on the platform, which meant there were quite a lot of religious sermons to choose from, a variety of different religions and denominations. Eventually, Leorio settled on a video uploaded from a popular church in Hass Valley. It was one of their weekly sermons, uploaded for accessibility and to reach an even bigger audience.

Turning up the volume on his laptop to the highest possible setting, Leorio pressed play on the video. The church logo appeared on the screen and soft music filtered through the speakers. A portly man appeared on the screen wearing a priest’s collar. As he began to speak, the four boys leaned in closely, ears straining. For a good minute or so, the man offered greetings, updates on the church itself, and so on so forth. Nothing particularly provocative to a dark creature.

Gon groaned, “Skip to the good stuff!”

“Fine.” Leorio replied and dragged the timestamp to roughly the middle of the video.

The audio shifted, and the priest began to quote scripture.

The effect was immediate.

The room seemed to drop in temperature. The creature grunted, his chin meeting his chest. The veins on his neck pulsed black, stark on his skin like hairline cracks splintering a teacup. He convulsed in the chair, the chains chiming noisily as they clinked together.

Gon gave an excited shout, and began to narrate again, describing the creature’s actions.

Whether it was the belief of the man delivering the sermon, the fire in his words, or perhaps the influence of a spiritual force they could not see, the creature was clearly reacting to something. His dark eyes were fused shut; his jaw set as he shook angrily. Teeth tearing into his own flesh, the creature bit his lip, blood as black as night spilling over his lips like ink on paper. Eyes blown wide in his head, Kurapika found himself unable to look away.

_If it bleeds…_

Well, that answered _that_ question. It appeared the creature was not invincible. He had known somewhat, considering the creature’s reaction to the sunlight, but to see the creature’s blood flowing freely only cemented the thought in his brain. It was less of a comfort as he had imagined. He shook his head, settling back into the role of the detached researcher. With a steady hand, he took notes:

  * _Black blood_
  * _Weaknesses: religious speech/prayer/etc. (provided it is spoken by a believer)_



Finally, Leorio muted the video and shut the laptop.

The creature promptly slumped over in the chair, body rising and falling visibly, as if each intake of breath was an effort.

“Wow.” Killua whistled, “That was insane.”

“Yeah! Holy crap!” Gon cheered, “I can’t believe that just happened!”

“Too bad the visual won’t come through on video, but at least we all got to see that.” Leorio said, “That was something.”

Kurapika could not help but agree. It was disquieting, yet almost thrilling to have seen such a thing occur. A powerful creature like this could be hushed by prayer. It certainly made him question not just the physical world he could see and feel, but the spiritual unknown as well.

Setting aside his book, Kurapika stood up and approached the creature hesitantly. He still looked utterly defeated, a shell in comparison to his earlier show of strength. A wave of guilt washed over Kurapika, and he took a tissue. With gentle movements, he mopped up the creature’s chin, the blood staining the tissue paper like ink. His cheeks burned, feeling not only the eyes of his friends on his back, but also the dark pair belonging to the creature boring into him with an unreadable expression. When all the blood was wiped away, Kurapika blinked with surprise.

_There was no wound._

Curious. Yet he had seen, clear as day, the creature savage his own lip, the flesh torn asunder and blood dripping all over his front. He hadn’t imagined that, right? Surely not. There was still dried blood on his shirt, and on the tissue. So how was it that he was healed?

He could only think of one explanation.

In fact, he was surprised he had not pieced the puzzle together sooner. After all, he had been shoved to the ground by the creature, only for him to be burned under the light of the sun. Yet the following day, there had been nary a scratch on him. As if he had never been hurt at all.

All but running to the couch, Kurapika hurriedly picked up his pen and notepad to jot down his thoughts, adding to the list:

  * _Regenerative healing factor_



“Guys-” Kurapika began but stopped.

Was this something he should share? He was not on board with the disturbing direction the videos were taking, nor their treatment of the creature. It seemed the content was focusing more on his pain threshold than on anything else. If the others learned about its healing powers, would they use that as an excuse to be less conscientious towards the creature’s wellbeing? Deep down, he knew his friends were not the sort to revel in the pain of others, else he never would have befriended them in the first place. They were all good. But if they got carried away with the excitement of the creature, then who was to say what might happen?

It was too late, however. Killua was already peering over his shoulder, reading what he had written: “Healing powers? _Holy shit_ , that’s cool.”

“It has healing powers?!” Gon looked ecstatic.

“We’re not testing that.” Kurapika said firmly, shaking his head. He could not - _would_ not allow himself to compromise on this. Even if it meant hindering their progress and hurting Gon’s feelings. The creature deserved better.

Gon looked disappointed, “Aww, but how are we supposed to know its limits?”

“We don’t.” Kurapika said, pursing his lips. It was difficult to refuse his friend, and he did want Gon to finally get some form of closure, and if that meant he needed to meet Ging, so be it. But this, he could not allow. “But he bit his lip reacting to that video and now the skin has healed over. There isn’t even a scar. I’d say that’s all the evidence we need. Some things we just don’t go out of our way to explore. It wouldn’t be ethical.”

Gon raised an eyebrow, “Ethical?”

“Yes, _ethical._ We can’t stress him out and cause pain unnecessarily. It’s not right.”

“It wouldn’t even show up on video anyway, Gon.” Leorio said, looking uncomfortable.

“Alright, fine.” Gon said, though he did not look happy.

Feeling bad for his friend, Kurapika held out the tissue for him to look at: “Though, I did manage to grab a sample of his blood. Here.”

“It’s black! Black blood… wow.” Gon exclaimed in a hushed awe, any hint of disappointment melting away almost instantly.

“That’s incredible.” Killua said, leaning in closer to inspect it.

“Let me try to film it.” Leorio said, waving his smartphone.

Kurapika nodded, holding the tissue still. There was a soft _beep_ as Leorio began to film, and then a series of _clicks_ as he took a couple of pictures for good measure. When he was done, Leorio began to re-play the video. His eyebrows shot up, pleasantly surprised.

“Huh, it shows up!”

“Yes!” Gon shouted, pumping his fist in the air. In typical Gon fashion, the previous disagreement seemed totally forgotten; “I mean, the viewers will probably write it off as ink or something, but it’s still visual evidence!”

Kurapika’s brow furrowed, “Curious, his blood shows up on the tissue, but not on him in the other video. It’s his blood, but it only shows up if it’s not on him.”

“Ownership!” Leorio said with a gasp; “I was right!”

“Good job, Leorio.” Kurapika said, smiling softly. “We’ll make a researcher out of you, yet.”

“If I’m going to be any good as a doctor, then yeah!” Leorio laughed.

Fumbling around in the drawers, Kurapika pulled out a small glass jar. He had ended up scrounging a few empty glass jars from the pantry, as well as in the Zoldyck basement (they had so many odd things down there), after seeing the amount of ash left behind in the pit. A researcher needed samples. So far, he taken a snip of the creature’s black hair, a small amount of ash, and now, he had his blood too. Folding the napkin carefully so it would fit, Kurapika placed it into the jar and screwed the lid back on tightly, before placing it in the cupboard with the other samples. Maybe one day they could afford to get it all tested at a laboratory, or even attempt to do so themselves.

It seemed so far away.

But seeing the progress they had already made in the last couple of days was exciting, nevertheless.

.

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chrollo getting tended to by Doctor Kurapika: ɾ⚈▿⚈ɹ  
> also chrollo: proceeds to bash his own face against the wall so Doctor Kurapika keeps touching him
> 
> if i die, please don't call emergency services. just send doctor kurapika so he can restart my heart in one of three ways: a) holy chain; b) Looking Like That; or c) taking one look at me, muttering "pathetic" and leaving again


	5. V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the boys get adventurous  
> poor chrollo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you once again to everyone who has commented and/or left kudos! you are so kind and lovely

**THURSDAY**

When the boys pulled up to the Zoldyck house that afternoon, Killua took off up to the house and simply told the others to go ahead without him, citing the need to grab some things. Not half an hour later, he joined them in the shed, carrying a small plastic tub.

Setting aside his math homework, Kurapika got up off the couch to see what Killua had brought. Peering over his friend’s shoulder, he looked at the contents of the tub, only to realise it was full of junk. Well, perhaps junk was a little harsh, but it was full of seemingly miscellaneous items. At first glance, there appeared to be no common theme.

“What are these?” Gon said, frowning as he sorted through the tub. He picked out a gaudy black earring with a cross on it. Given the design, it looked like one of Illumi’s.

“Religious symbols!” Killua announced, “We’re going to test out its tolerance for religious bits and bobs today.”

“A crucifix.” Kurapika said, realisation dawning. He took the earring from Gon, before passing it to Leorio so he could take a look too. “What else have you got?”

Fumbling around in the box, Killua took out his old yo-yo: “This one wasn’t intentional, but it has the exact same design as the Star of David!”

Leorio took out a necklace from the box, a golden piece with an Egyptian symbol on it: “The Eye of Horus, right?”

“Yeah, used as a symbol of protection and to ward off evil, amongst other things.” Killua said. Then he turned to Kurapika: “Did you bring the books?”

“Yes.” Kurapika said, standing up to fetch his school bag. It was twice as heavy today; due to the books he had borrowed from the library. He took out a copy of the bible, as well as a few other religious texts, and deposited them on the table beside the plastic tub.

“What should we test first?” Gon asked, eyes wide as he looked on all the items.

Killua nodded thoughtfully, “Huh, well, we have all these books. I guarantee that bible will give us a reaction, considering how it reacted to the text yesterday. I reckon we take a video of that first, and then go from there. How does that sound?”

There was a collective murmur of agreement.

So, in what was quickly becoming the norm, they set aside one of the wooden chairs and managed to chain the creature down to it, securing his arms and legs to the chair so he could not move. Silky black strands hung in his face, whilst his mouth was set into a straight line. As usual, he did not look thrilled whatsoever.

Whilst he was in no way cooperating, he had yet to put up a real fuss. To Kurapika’s relief he was still drinking the water he had left for him, however, he had yet to eat any food. Given yesterday’s failure, Kurapika had thought to duck into the Zoldyck pantry to borrow some slices of pastrami and some bread to leave for the creature overnight (with Killua’s permission of course). But both the meat and the bread were untouched. Which gave him pause.

Still, despite his lack of appetite, he had yet to strike out.

Kurapika took out his notebook and sat down at the table, quickly documenting what items they were going to use on the creature. He drew up a simple table, ready to record the creature’s reactions or lack thereof.

Reclining against the table, Killua passed the first item to Gon. It was the bible. Kurapika tensed, anxious to see what would happen next.

“You ready, Leorio?” Gon asked, approaching the creature with the bible held tightly in his hand.

Angling the smartphone at the creature, Leorio gave him the thumbs up. Gon grinned.

“This is our first test of the creature’s tolerance for religious symbols and items. The first item we have is a bible-” Gon held up the book, one finger tracing across the cover to show off the cross insignia on the front. “Now, our guest did not react favourably to a religious sermon featuring passages from the bible, but we want to know if it will react to the book itself.”

With that, Gon turned away from the camera and held the bible up to the creature, simply hovering it beside him. Not surprisingly, there was no reaction. The creature simply stared at the opposite wall; eyes dull.

Gon turned briefly to the camera: “No reaction so far.”

Then he got in closer and pushed the book against the creature’s forearm. For a second, nothing happened. Then it began. The creature flinched, drawing his chin to his chest, his eyes closed tightly. Smoke began to curl into the air where the jacket of the book was pressed to the creature’s arm. There was the familiar scent of burning as the creature’s flesh began to sizzle and blacken.

Kurapika watched, transfixed. It was like the creature’s arm were being exposed to open flame. For whatever reason, the book was clearly affecting the creature. Suddenly, the creature began to shake. He threw his head back, the veins in his neck prominent. The creature let out a low noise in his throat.

He was in pain.

Heart beating in his chest, Kurapika stood up. With the chair toppling back behind him, he lunged forward and snatched the book from Gon. The creature slumped forward in the chair, chest heaving.

“Hey!”

“We get the idea!” Kurapika said, tossing the book onto the table. “He doesn’t like it.”

“Did you get that on camera, Leorio?” Gon asked, pouting.

“Yeah, I got it.”

Gon shook his head, “Pika, you need to chill. We gotta film these videos.”

“If it hurts him, then yes, I’m going to intervene.” Kurapika snapped, eyes drifting to where the creature was still trying to recover. How could his friends simply sit back and watch? Did it not make their skin crawl to watch the creature endure such pain? Of course, he knew exactly why they were willing to turn a blind eye. But he was beginning to question how long he could do the same.

“But we won’t know what hurts him until we try it!”

“We can’t film these videos if you keep jumping in all the time.” Killua added, concern lining his face. He had always been sharp.

“Just… don’t drag it out. Please.” Kurapika said quietly, face pinched.

Suddenly, Gon’s face softened, as if struck by a sudden realisation: “Yeah, I know. I’ll be careful. You know me.”

“Okay.” Kurapika said, smiling despite the slimy feeling surging in his gut. Simply sitting back and letting this happen did not sit right, but he knew that the others would just as sooner exclude him from the entire process and expose themselves to danger then listen. There was simply too much at stake for them to realise.

Giving Kurapika’s shoulder a hearty squeeze, Gon said: “I keep forgetting you’re our damage control. So yeah, let us know if something is too far!”

Giving a shaky nod, Kurapika sat back down. He picked up his pen, quickly noting down the creature’s reactions. As Gon cycled through the remaining items, he sat there taking notes, the nausea rising in his throat refusing to budge. No matter how much he tried, he could not block out the creature’s grunts of pain, nor unsee the shaking of his limbs, nor the hideous scent of burning flesh. Still, true to his word, Gon did not press the items to the creature’s skin for longer than to produce a reaction. In the end, the creature had reacted to nearly every single item, and Kurapika had pages and pages of notes to prove it.

  * _Weaknesses: sunlight, hawthorn, religious/warding symbols, holy scripture, religious speech/prayer/etc. (provided it is spoken by a believer)_



* * *

When they were done with the videos, the boys returned briefly to the house to fetch some snacks, and proceeded to crash in the shed for a while, not willing to part from each other’s company until the last possible moment. It was still an hour or so until nightfall, and they preferred each other’s company over anyone else’s. A sombre air had overtaken the room, due most in part to the disagreement earlier. But despite that, they all stuck together like glue. Leorio and Gon were sitting at the table sharing a bag of crisps and studying Leorio’s laptop, clearly going through the footage they had taken and playing around with their editing software. Killua was lying spreadeagled on the couch, playing games on his smartphone. Kurapika was perched beside him, carefully avoiding being smacked in the face by one of Killua’s socked feet. His notebook was balanced on his knees, and his gaze kept flickering between the page and his chosen model: the creature, who was still reclining in the chair. Well, as much as he could recline considering that he was tied up.

The pen scratched against the page in a flurry of short and long strokes, as Kurapika tried to capture the creature’s likeness in his notebook. He felt like a birdwatcher trying to hurriedly draw a rare bird of prey, or like he was one of the artists on _Monster Hunters_ , sketching a creature as a traumatised witness described it to him in excruciating detail. Only, it was much easier with the creature sitting right across from him, holding carefully still almost as if he were posing for him. Kurapika smiled at the silliness of the thought. All the boys liked to draw, all the walls in their bedrooms thick with sketches of the beasts they dreamed about catching, and Kurapika was no exception.

His eyes flickered between the page and the creature. There was that strong jaw line, the thin lips, and his dark eyes, which seemed to draw all the light from the shed, leaving only darkness in their wake. Black eyelashes fluttered like moth’s wings with every blink, stark against the pale flesh of his face. There was an almost deathly pallor to his skin, and his cheeks – had they always been so hollow? Kurapika could have sworn his face was fuller when he had first laid eyes on him. Perhaps the videos today had taken an even heavier toll than he’d thought.

When he was satisfied with the sketch, Kurapika showed his notebook to the others, “What do you think?”

It was not about to be hung in a museum any time soon, but Kurapika rather thought it looked good for a beginner’s attempt. Judging by the expressions on his friends faces, they seemed to like it well enough.

“Nice work!” Killua said, taking the notebook from him, his eyes alight with awe. 

Gon set down his can of coke and ran over to the couch to lean over Killua’s shoulder. His face lit up and he exclaimed: “Amazing! We could put this on our show so our viewers can get a better idea of what it looks like!”

It was a good idea. It was almost too bad the creature was so… normal looking. There was something to be said for fear of the unseen, but frustration would eventually win out and their audience would get tired of seeing chains floating in mid-air. This way, they would get a clearer picture of what the creature looked like, even if he was a bit… bland. Though, that could be fixed if he drew him in his more monstrous form – though that would have to be from memory. He was not interested in provoking the creature into taking on _that_ face again.

And until they figured out a way to get him to show up on the camera, then this would be a great substitute. The blood yesterday had been a great discovery, but not a solution. And unfortunately, it had set off all sorts of grisly ideas in Gon’s head: smearing blood on the creature, which Kurapika had immediately shot down (and even Killua had looked a bit queasy at that.). Perhaps a similar effect could be produced with paint… but Kurapika did not want to risk poisoning the creature. There was a solution, he just needed to think more on it.

Leorio nodded, “That’s a great idea, Gon! What do you think, Kurapika? Could we use your art in one of our videos?”

Ears burning, Kurapika smiled: “Yeah, sure.”

“I know, let’s all try drawing it!” Killua said, passing the notepad back to Kurapika. “It’ll be like an episode of _Monster Hunters_ if we have a bunch of different drawings.”

It was decided. The four of them huddled together at the table, sketching idly – Kurapika in his notebook, whilst the others made do with torn out pages from their schoolbooks. Upbeat music wafted from the radio, making them tap their feet against the floorboards, and Leorio, hum under his breath.

Meanwhile, the creature slumped in his chair, eyes half-lidded and jaw set beneath his gag. He looked drained. It gave Kurapika pause, wondering what the cause could be. Perhaps a culmination of many things: being stuck inside this shed, confined to four walls and tied down with chains, subjected to what must have been humiliating videos, if this creature could feel such things (which, judging by the expression on his face and the gleam of intelligence in his eyes, Kurapika suspected was very much the case). Nevertheless, he remained relatively still – the perfect life drawing model.

They sat there sketching for a good hour, talking animatedly and swapping ideas for future videos. When they finally got sick of drawing, they had a reasonable selection of sketches to choose from: a few realistic sketches by Kurapika, some wobbly stick-figures and a few more serious sketches by Killua, an abstract approximation of the creature by Leorio, and a few dozen almost cartoony interpretations by Gon. Each drawing looked different, but that was the point – to generate a few images to give their audience a rough idea of what the creature looked like.

Killua took the pictures and propped them into a stack: “I’ll scan these onto my computer later, and then I’ll upload them. We can probably make a video just from this, but I’ll add them to the gallery as well.”

By that time, the sun had finally begun to set, and the boys finally parted, with Gon and Kurapika piling into Leorio’s car so he could drop them off at their respective houses, and Killua waving them off from the front door of the Zoldyck House.

* * *

Even though eleventh grade homework was supposed to be marginally more difficult that previous years, as Kurapika sequestered himself away at his desk, he found himself breezing through his set math questions, as well as the rough draft for his chemistry report. It was lucky that such things came relatively easy to him, as his mind was far away from the mundane intricacies of derivatives or titrations. No, he was occupied with something far different.

He could not get the creature out of his head.

Put simply, the creature’s unhealthy state was beginning to worry him. Not only due to his friends’ desperation to capture the creature on film and keep it for as long as possible, which spouted all sorts of questions concerning the creature’s mental state, but for the creature’s own physical health as well. It had been nearly a week, and the creature had not had a single bite to eat. Sure, he had accepted the water offered to him, but he had not touched anything Kurapika had brought him. Not the fruit, the crackers, the pastrami, nor the bread. How long would he last at this rate? …did he even need to eat at all?

Well, the very least Kurapika could do was exhaust every option before making such a call.

Biting his lip, Kurapika began to type a shopping list on his phone, occasionally scouring the web to get an idea of what a diverse diet might be – human or otherwise.

.

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> these kids make pinhead from hellraiser look like a well-mannered, gentle person, honestly.
> 
> next time: kurapika tries to find out what chrollo eats with... mixed results.


	6. VI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ayyyy new chapter.  
> moved to another city so it's been pretty hectic, so as things start to settle down, it's good to get a new chapter of the shed out there. 
> 
> gon and killua are trying to fill big shoes.  
> leorio is just vibing.  
> chrollo goes on a winery tour, trying all of one vintage. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)  
> kurapika is the wine. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

**SUNDAY**

Looking back, that Sunday morning was the turning-point. The point of no return, where Kurapika would find himself faced with an impossible choice, and in true Kurta fashion, had promptly thrown caution to the wind for the sake of another. It was a choice he would turn over his mind for a long time to come, mulling over whether he should have simply let the creature die, or if, throwing himself in harm’s way had been worth it. And by the end, the answer continued to evade him. What was right, what was fair, what was safe?

Sleeping in on weekends was no longer a luxury Kurapika could afford.

One, because the sheer excitement of having a real-life monster in Killua’s shed was impossible to ignore. Two, because of the terror that resulted from the latter. Somehow, he did not miss the extra hours of sleep as much as he anticipated, if only because studying the creature was more enticing of an activity.

So here he was, holed up in the shed once again, curled up on the ratty couch with his legs tucked underneath him, his notebook splayed out on his lap, furiously taking notes. Gon and Killua were seated at the table, drawing up outlines for future videos, whilst Leorio was seated on the other end of the couch, tapping away on his phone.

Once again, he found himself sketching the creature. As his pen scrawled across the page, Kurapika bit the inside of his cheek, feeling heat pool into his cheeks. He was being silly again. But he could not help it. Not when those deep, fathomless eyes, like twin satellites were watching him, his gaze as soft as moonbeams. Capturing him on page was a challenge. Kurapika was not all that artistically inclined, but he found himself wanting to try anyway.

There was the sharp set of his jaw, the thin, yet inviting lips, and his cheekbones, stark against his face. Kurapika could not deny it. The creature was handsome, almost haunting in his beauty. Like an intricate shadow set against the wall.

But the longer Kurapika stared, the more uneasy he felt. The creature’s cheeks were hollow, his beautiful eyes not nearly as bright as usual, and his hair was hanging over his head limply. He was sick.

With a sigh, Kurapika stood up, leaving the notebook on the couch cushion. He crept over to the creature, more than aware that the others had stopped bickering to stare at him. Crouching down, he placed the back of his hand against the creature’s forehead, and his stomach dropped. Normally, the creature’s body temperature ran low, just the odd end of chilly. But now, his skin was like ice.

“He’s not well.”

“What do you mean?” Gon asked, getting up from the table to join Kurapika.

“Feel his forehead-” Kurapika said, pressing Gon’s hand to the creature’s head; “That’s not normal!”

“Is he sick?” Killua asked, crouching down too.

The creature blinked at them wearily, movements sluggish. This did not bode well. He looked sick. Very sick. Just as Kurapika was about to get up and fetch a first-aid kit, water, anything really (what on earth should they give him?!), just to try and help the creature, the creature’s head fell back, hitting the wall with a heavy _thud_.

“He looks delirious!” Leorio said, looking over the creature but still giving him a wide berth. Even all their filming had not made him any less cautious.

“He’s hungry!” Kurapika snapped, suddenly furious at himself and his friends. How could they have let it go this far, and essentially starve the creature? “He hasn’t had anything to eat since he got dragged in here!”

“It’s not our fault he’s too fussy to eat the stuff we got him!” Killua argued, eyes narrowed.

“No, Pika’s right.” Gon said, making Killua turn on him. He shrugged; “If he dies, there’s no show, right?”

“Oh? And what are we gonna do? He won’t eat anything we give him!”

“Maybe, maybe there’s a way-” Kurapika started, regretting it instantly at the way Gon and Killua’s eyes lit up. The very suggestion felt like lead on his tongue, but given the creature’s state, he knew that something had to be done. With shaking legs, Kurapika stood up: “Do you have your pocket-knife, Killua?”

Killua was taken aback: “What?!”

“If he doesn’t get food now, he’s going to die.” Kurapika said, “And I think you all know what he eats. We can’t ignore the truth any longer. I have to try.”

All the clues were there. The pig’s blood, the way the creature had attacked him that first day, all his other characteristics: it was plain what kind of creature they were dealing with. And if he was correct, then the creature needed blood. Human blood.

Gon’s eyes widened as he realised what Kurapika was implying: “Pika, you can’t!”

“Yeah, I’m with Gon on this one.” Killua snapped, catching on to his plan too. “I won’t let you do that to yourself.”

“Give me the knife.”

Leorio frowned, “Killua, don’t!”

“You don’t even know if that will work!” Killua pointed out, voice breaking.

“But it might.”

For a good long moment, Killua stared Kurapika down. Seeing his friend showing concern for him so plainly would have been flattering, were Kurapika not feeling downright nauseous. The creature was clearly unwell, and someone needed to do something.

Kurapika sighed and held out his hand, “I’ll use a rusty nail if I have to. At least your knife is clean.”

Slowly, Killua surrendered the knife over to Kurapika. He held tight to the blade before pushing it into Kurapika’s hand, giving him a pointed look. The message was loud and clear.

As Kurapika loomed over the creature, Killua moved to the other side, a crucifix in one hand and one hand pressed down cruelly on the creature’s sternum, a clear warning. At Killua’s behest, Gon moved to the shed door, ready to swing it open if the creature tried anything.

Taking up the knife, Kurapika sliced his wrist open, swearing as a sharp pain hurtled up his arm. Blood began to well around the wound, red and thick. Then he pushed his forearm up to the creature’s mouth, waiting.

The creature’s nostrils flared, the scent of blood curling upwards. Then his eyes flung open, dark depths suddenly alight with hunger. He surged forwards, as far as the restraints would allow, to latch onto Kurapika’s forearm, making Killua shout in alarm. As needle sharp teeth sunk into his arm, Kurapika grunted. Pain erupted as the creature tore into his flesh, mauling his wrist. Blood curled down his forearm, dripping down his elbow and onto the dusty floor as the creature drank his fill, lapping greedily. Suddenly, the pain subsided, replaced with a cool wave of pleasure, sliding through his veins and roiling pleasantly in his stomach. A soft gasp pealed from his lips and he felt that wicked mouth smiling against him.

“That’s enough, I said!”

The mouth was forced away and Kurapika felt himself being shoved backwards, only to be crowded against the bench by Killua, whose face was terse with worry. His blue eyes, usually so alight with mischief were strangely teary. Still addled by a strange sense of contentment, Kurapika looked away, only to find himself frozen in place by another pair of eyes – darker still. Coal black depths had subsided into slate, coolly staring him down with a barely restrained hunger. A wet tongue darted out from between blood-drenched lips, licking off the excess.

Even with fresh blood dripping off his chin, the creature’s face was still drawn. But as Kurapika stared back at him, seeing the voracity in his eyes and the slightest hint of a smile curling at his lips, he knew that the creature would live to see another day.

“He likes blood, huh?” Killua said after gathering himself.

“It looks like it.”

Gon frowned, “Well, why didn’t he eat the pig’s blood then?”

“Maybe he’s fussy? Who knows?” Kurapika said, eyes fixed to the mess the creature had made of his arm. “But he likes human blood, apparently.”

“How on earth are we going to keep it fed then?” Leorio pointed out, already rifling through his bag for bandages. “You can’t keep giving it your blood – you’ll die of blood loss, or some other side-effect we don’t know about!”

“We can’t just drag random people in here!”

“I have an idea. It would be very illegal, but no one would get directly hurt.” Killua blurted out.

They all looked to Killua, waiting.

“Uh, well, you guys know that Milluki gets involved in a lot of shady stuff on the net, right? Well, I think he could source some blood for us.”

Leorio’s jaw dropped, “You’re joking.”

“Nope. If I ask him to, he could get us as much blood as we want.”

“You’re right. That sounds _very_ illegal.” Kurapika said, eyebrows threatening to disappear into his hairline. Hell, he knew that the Zoldycks got up to some shady bullshit, but mysteriously sourcing blood? That was just downright unscrupulous.

Gon frowned, “…and doesn’t someone still get hurt?”

“Not necessarily.” Killua replied airily, “Let’s say a blood donor truck carrying samples were to mysteriously crash and all the samples were written off as damaged or missing. The only person who’s hurt is the person waiting on that blood transfusion, but they can get the blood from the other truck heading their way. I’m just saying, one truck goes missing – who’s to know?”

Kurapika pinched the bridge of his nose. Leorio and Gon exchanged grimaces. Even Killua, whose idea it was, looked apprehensive at the thought. Keeping the creature alive and healthy was turning out to be quite the challenge.

Killua continued: “Look, the alternative is this guy starves to death, we keep using Kurapika as a human blood bag, or we drag some other poor sod in here to be the blood bag. And _no,_ Kurapika, you can’t be the blood bag. It’s like Leorio said, we don’t know how much blood he’s taken from you and we don’t know if there’s side effects. Dragging some other random in here isn’t smart, so, if you guys want to keep our bloodsucker here alive, our best bet is the truck.”

“As long as no one is being kept as a human blood bag, I don’t see any other choice. I think you’re right, Killua.” Kurapika said, heaving a sigh. It felt terrible to even agree, but what choice did they have? If it was up to him alone, he would have simply set the creature free, but he knew that Gon would never allow it.

Gon nodded, “If no one’s getting directly hurt, then I think the truck is our best bet!”

Leorio looked sick, “This is so fucked up.”

Killua shrugged, “Yeah, but what’s the alternative?”

And to that, none of them had an answer.

* * *

In hindsight, letting the creature tear into his arm had not been an ideal move. Each slight movement of his arm sent shockwaves of pain hurtling through him. To be frank, it hurt like a bitch. Trying to ride home on his bike had been a challenge and a half, steering with one hand and keeping his injured one raised up to his chest. It had taken nearly twice as long to get home.

Still, when the creature had passed out, his eyes growing duller with every passing moment, Kurapika could not help but feel justified in his decision. Dangerous or not, the creature needed food.

By the time he got home, the bandages on his arm were soaked through. Luckily, the first aid-kit at home was well-stocked, and he was able to patch himself up again fairly quickly. Unfortunately, having a sizeable chunk taken out of your arm resulted in a great deal of pain, and a LOT of bandages, so despite his best efforts, he could not disguise his injury from his aunt and uncle for long. 

Aunt Mira balked, “Sweetie, what happened to your arm?”

“It’s nothing.” Kurapika said, spearing a piece of quiche on his fork. He winced as he lifted the fork to his mouth, before switching over to his other arm instead; “We just got a little rough today at Killua’s and I snagged my arm on a branch.”

“Are you sure? That looks serious!”

Kurapika waved her off, “It’s fine, really.”

“Okay, if you say so.” Aunt Mira said, still looking uneasy at the sight of the bandages on his arm. Thankfully, she dropped the subject and turned to her husband to ask about his day.

Nevertheless, the damage had been done. There was a hesitance in his aunt and uncle’s eyes, and he could see the frown on Pairo’s face. They were suspicious. Damn.

Sure enough, Pairo cornered him after dinner whilst they were doing the dishes.

“You didn’t tell me you got injured.” Pairo said accusingly, his voice low so his parents would not overhear.

Being careful with his arm, Kurapika set the dry plates in the cupboard and shrugged, “It’s not serious, so I didn’t think it was worth mentioning.”

“Mum seemed to think it was serious.”

“Well, it’s not.”

Pairo’s eyes narrowed, then he reached out, suddenly fingers brushing over the bandages on Kurapika’s arm. Kurapika yelped, pain erupting from his wound. The dish in his hand fell as he recoiled backwards, smashing against the floor sending bits of porcelain flying across the tiles. There was a gasp, and he looked up to see Pairo’s mouth hanging open, his eyes wide in his head.

“Boys? Are you okay?” Uncle Jovan called from the lounge room, sounding concerned.

“We’re fine. I just dropped a plate.” Kurapika replied, suddenly nervous that Pairo would make a fuss and draw his aunt and uncle’s attention. That last thing he needed was people prying into his business, even if they were family.

“Okay, be careful.”

Whilst his uncle seemed placated for the moment, the horrified look on Pairo’s face indicated that he was not.

“A branch did that?!” Pairo hissed, drawing his hand back, his fingers twitching as if he couldn’t quite believe what he had felt.

“Y-yeah, so what?” Kurapika replied heatedly.

“You’re joking. There’s no way a branch did that – what did you do, impale yourself on it?! What really happened?”

“I’m telling you, it was just a branch!”

Pairo’s eyes narrowed, “Liar.”

“Believe what you want.” Kurapika replied airily, throwing the dishtowel at the sink none too kindly.

They finished cleaning the dishes in silence, both too frustrated to speak any more.

* * *

After a very careful shower, being careful of his bandages, Kurapika put on his pyjamas and went to his room. Sitting at his desk, he took out his notebook and began to go over the notes he had taken that day. So much had happened, not just over the past week, but today. Looking at the information he had gathered, he had what was the beginnings of an intricate profile of the creature.

As he sat there, his head began to swim. His arm throbbed horribly, his head beginning to pound with the tell-tale signs of an oncoming headache, and his body felt both hot and cold. Wincing, Kurapika used his other hand to write. The pen scratched at the page, sweat beading at the back of his neck:

  * _Weaknesses: sunlight, hawthorn, religious/warding symbols, holy scripture, religious speech/prayer/etc. (provided it is spoken by a believer)_
  * _Cannot be filmed/photographed_
  * _Holy chains can restrain him_
  * _Human appearance. Claws and fangs appear when attacking._
  * _Black blood_
  * _Regenerative healing factor_
  * _Drinks ~~blood~~ human blood_



There was but one being that Kurapika knew of, that matched every characteristic that the creature had displayed so far. A creature that shied away from the sunlight, hated religious symbols and prayer and would cower in its presence, that attacked with fangs and claws, and survived on human blood. The creature in Killua’s shed had all the characteristics of a vampire. It all fit. And if Kurapika’s theory was correct and the creature was a vampire, well then, the creature was far more dangerous than he could have ever imagined.

.

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chrollo finally gets a taste of that sweet, sweet Kurapika.   
> That will keep him going for a while, if you know what i mean. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)  
> (kurapika enjoyed that a bit too much... ) ໒( ͡ᵔ ▾ ͡ᵔ )७


End file.
